Native community gathers for annual conference on sexual assault amid cuts and turmoil

Community members and advocates from Native communities across the state and country wrapped up a three-day conference on ending sexual violence Thursday. The “Restoring the Sacred Trails of Our Grandmothers Conference” is hosted annually by the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition. Nicole Matthews, chief executive officer of the coalition, said this year's event comes at a particularly difficult time with funding cuts and heightened need. It also takes place just as an audit into the police response and investigation of Allison Lussier’s death was released. Lussier was an Indigenous woman who was found dead in her home in 2024. Police reports show Lussier had experienced intimate partner violence. The report is critical of the Minneapolis Police Department in its handling of Lussier’s case as well as the shooting of Davis Moturi, who was shot by a neighbor. Matthews shared more about the gathering and her reaction to the findings of the report with Minnesota Now host Nina Moini.