AG Vargo announces hires for MMIP, human trafficking coordinators

The South Dakota Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday morning the hiring for two new positions: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinator and Human Trafficking Coordinator.

Attorney General Mark Vargo made the announcement at the Public Safety Building in Rapid City, alongside state Rep. Peri Pourier and the positions' two new faces: Mary Beth Holzwarth and Allison Morrisette.

“This is a very special day for the Attorney General's Office,” Vargo said. “Today we are welcoming two people who are going to carry our mission of ensuring the safety of South Dakota citizens into all of the communities in South Dakota.”

Holzwarth, who has spent the past 13 years as the CEO of an organization dedicated to sexual assault prevention, will serve as the Human Trafficking Coordinator.

“I am really excited about this opportunity,” she said. “I come from a background of fighting child sexual assault in the prevention aspect and the response aspect.”

She was also involved in drafting Jolene's Law — an effort to combat child sexual abuse with the creation of a task force in the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment.

Holzwarth spent three and a half years working in a women's prison, where she worked with “many incredible women” that had experienced trafficking. Stepping into the role made sense, she said.

Morrisette, the new Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinator, called the position “important” and one she was “glad to be hired for.”

“I think this is a well-needed position,” she said.

Morrisette, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, came to the position from the Pennington County State's Attorney's Office, where she served as the adult supervision coordinator.

“Being able to capitalize off of the past relationships I've built within the native community across the state — I'm excited to network more and to get organizations, law enforcement agencies, nonprofits — everybody to the table so that we can try to target the issue,” Morrisette said.

Bringing everyone to the table is crucial, according to Vargo.

“It is absolutely clear that no single agency or entity can solve the problems we face,” he said. “We all face some of the same problems, and we have to face them together. It is my hope that these two women will be a huge step toward ensuring that we are united, that we are coordinated and that we are doing everything that we can for our citizens.”

Pourier called the day historic.

“I'm very proud to be sitting next to these two fine women who have the qualifications and have the experience to bring something of significance to these positions,” she said.

Data reviewed in the Legislature, Pourier said, indicated about 77% of missing persons in South Dakota were Indigenous.

“We looked at — where are these located? Where are these missing persons coming from — a large number of them came from our cities across our reservations in our Native communities,” she said. “This is very much an Indigenous problem, but it's just as much a South Dakota problem.”

Pourier called Wednesday's announcement a “huge” step towards bridging the gap between Indigenous communities and the state.

She described the positions as reflective of hard work and countless hours pouring over data, learning stories and raising the issue of women, men and children who will not go overlooked.

“They're not going to go silent. And we're going to remember them,” Pourier said.

She thanked Vargo and the Attorney General's Office for making the issue a priority, and taking a step in the right direction. While not a one-solution issue, she said, Wednesday's announcement was a step towards finding a solution.

“We got to shine a light into this and see what's happening so we can prevent these missing stories, this heartbreak within our families,” Pourier said.

The new positions are somewhat nebulous at this point, Vargo said, with early goals to include learning and researching what others are already doing, and what they feel needs to be done.

Pourier said part of the intent of the positions was to help bridge the gap between the different jurisdictions in South Dakota, “especially our tribal reservations on tribal lands.” Jurisdictional lines and loopholes cause many cases to fall through the cracks, she said.

Morrisette said she hopes to convey accessibility with her position, and make the community feel comfortable bringing questions, concerns and ideas.

Vargo called their efforts an attempt to build on “outstanding efforts” already begun by survivor networks in South Dakota, including Freedom's Journey, Call to Freedom and the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. Vargo said they are committed not only to working with these organizations, but “ensuring that what we are doing interrupts and prevents human trafficking.”

The Human Trafficking Coordinator will be based in Pierre and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinator will be based in Rapid City, Vargo said.

“This is a problem that's going to take all of us,” Pourier said, “so the way this was handled, in the method that it was handled, I think is a promising start.”

–Contact Laura Heckmann at [email protected]–