Great Lakes Wire

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) congratulated Jolene Hardesty on her appointment to the national Not Invisible Act Commission.

Hardesty is a Missing Persons Clearinghouse analyst for the Michigan State Police (MSP), according to a press release from the governor’s office. She has worked in law enforcement for 18 years and began her career as a police dispatcher before joining the MSP in 2017.

“I am thrilled that Jolene, a proud Michigander and dedicated public servant with the Michigan State Police, has been appointed to the national Not Invisible Act Commission,” Whitmer said in the press release. “The work of the commission is critical to tackling the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Jolene will bring her extensive experience collaborating with local, state, and federal law enforcement to find and recover missing children to her new role on the commission.”

Volunteering for the 2011 Missing in Michigan Day sparked her desire to aid missing children, Hardesty said.

“I am immensely honored and grateful to have been chosen for this critically important work to benefit our Native Americans,” she said. “Networking and coordination are critical tools needed to aid in successfully finding and recovering missing children and crime victims, especially on tribal lands. I look forward to working with new partners throughout our state, the nation, and internationally to help address this issue.”

The Not Invisible Act Commission will address multiple issues including missing individuals and the homicide and trafficking of Indigenous people, the press release noted.

“Jolene’s appointment to the Not Invisible Act Commission will make a real difference for Indigenous communities in Michigan and across the country,” Whitney Gravelle, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said. “Jolene carries critical expertise regarding Amber alert notification systems and will be extremely valuable in the development of a national notification system for missing and murdered Indigenous peoples. The commission, thanks to the experts like Jolene who serve on it, will offer tangible recommendations to improve intergovernmental coordination and save lives.”

The commission will make suggestions to strengthen interagency collaboration and create best practices for law enforcement to provide support to survivors and relatives of victims.

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community, but a lack of urgency, transparency, and coordination have hampered our country’s efforts to combat violence against American Indians and Alaska Natives,” Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, said. “As we work with the Department of Justice to prioritize the national crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, the Not Invisible Act Commission will help address its underlying roots by ensuring the voices of those impacted by violence against Native people are included in our quest to implement solutions.”

The commission will also develop the legislative and administrative adjustments required to employ government programs, assets, and resources to confront the crisis; consider issues relating to the recruiting and retention of law enforcement officers; and collect and report statistics on missing and murdered Indigenous peoples (MMIP), according to the press release.