PHOENIX - Today, Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a new partnership with her office (AGO) and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) to launch a first-of-its-kind Train the Trainer program aimed at creating awareness and preventing human trafficking and missing and murdered Indigenous People in tribal communities.
“Tribes have elevated the issues of human trafficking and missing or murdered Indigenous People to my office and I plan to address these issues directly,” says Attorney General Kris Mayes. “Our goal will be to increase awareness to help with prevention of human trafficking and move toward healing.”
The partnership between AGO and ITCA involves working together to develop a culturally appropriate training program that will be made available to all 22 Tribes in Arizona. The training program will focus on awareness and set the foundation for prevention. The program will be offered at no cost to tribal communities across the state, including schools and businesses.
“We value this partnership with the Office of the Attorney General because we feel supported in our effort to protect our communities,” says Maria Dadgar, Executive Director, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona. “Working with Attorney General Mayes will bring added resources and expertise that is rarely available to Tribes,” says Dadgar.
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Arizona hosts tens of millions of visitors every year. Our mild climate, along with our ability to host major sporting events, trade shows, and conventions make Arizona a popular tourist destination all year round. Arizona's geographic position easily facilitates travel between points in California, Las Vegas, and Mexico, which can be a considerable draw to tourists. However, these same factors are also appealing to traffickers.
Arizona will once again host the Super Bowl in 10 days and much attention has been given to human trafficking leading up to this major sports event. However, trafficking is happening in our state on a daily basis, it is not exclusive to any one event and it is important for our residents to get involved and stay involved year-round.
The AGO/ITCA Train the Trainer program is expected to launch this spring. If you live or work in a tribal community and are interested in helping to combat human trafficking by becoming a trainer, please contact Rachelle Lumpp at [email protected] or Madison Fulton at [email protected].
For more information on what the Arizona Attorney General’s Office is doing to combat human trafficking and other important issues affecting our community, please visit our website.
For more information and resources provided by the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona please visit their website.