Monday marks Indigenous Peoples Day in Minnesota, which is meant to recognize the contributions they've made to Minnesota.

It's also a time when many people reflect on the disproportionate violence Indigenous people experience.

According to the state's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office, 1% of Minnesota's population is Indigenous women and yet 10% of all missing women in the state are Indigenous.

The agency's new leader, Guadalupe Lopez, took over in August. She has decades of advocacy experience under her belt to try and close that gap.

"That’s what this office is trying to achieve, is making sure that every case gets its time," said Lopez, who's a member of the Leech Lake Band.

The MMIR Office is a first-of-its-kind across the country and opened three years ago.

"We

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