Blackfeet MMIP
Outreach
Missing Murdered Indigenous People
Our Team
Those of us working within Blackfeet MMIP have lived experience and understanding of the complexities involved in what we consider settler-colonial violence, making our work critical, impactful, empathetic, and Indigenous-centered. Our lived experiences and understanding of the complexities surrounding MMIP cases make our organization's work even more critical and impactful.
When we come together in a culturally appropriate trauma-informed space with humility and sensitivity we can make the changes necessary to improve the safety and circumstances for generations to come.
Our vision entails an interconnectedness among all available resources and awareness for those missing and encourage a healthy lifestyle for all involved by helping families cope with grief to crimes in reality state-wide, and nationally.
By acknowledging the helplessness and despair that can come with losing a loved one to violence, our experience of advocates is creating a safe and supportive space for families to navigate their grief and find a way forward.
When we can come together with humility, sensitivity, and culturally appropriate connection, in a trauma-informed space, we can make changes to better the safety and circumstances for generations, our children are our future. Our children matter.
Our organization is for all neighboring reservations, and all nationalities. We have helped families on and off the reservation in search of a missing loved one.
Each of our members are certified in outreach search and rescue. Blackfeet MMIP help bring home missing loved ones who have walked away from treatment facilities, group homes, are in situations where they lack additional help, means of funding, and providing support and resources to vulnerable individuals and families.
Our team believes that every person is important, and no task is too large.
The goal is to work collaboratively, with the focus being, to empower and offer healing pathways, to help support family members of MMIP are recognized as true experts, because our own lived experiences in the loss of a loved one.
Join us in our mission to honor and support Indigenous communities.
Together, we can make a difference.
Grow Your Vision
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Rhonda
Grant-Connelly
Founder | Executive Director
Rhonda is the Executive Director of Blackfeet MMIP, with over 8 years of
experience in tribal community projects, advocacy, and leadership. They are a proud member of the Blackfeet Nation and possess deep knowledge of indigenous issues, community engagement, and project management. Rhonda is committed to fostering community-led solutions that promote safety, justice, and cultural preservation.
Bringing over 24 years of experience in healthcare as a Lead Pharmacy Technician at the Blackfeet IHS Community Hospital Pharmacy. In her role, Rhonda has been responsible for managing point-of-sale operations and billing, as well as coordinating the Hepatitis clinic. She holds a Certificate in Pharmacy Technology from PCDI, earned in March 2003. Rhonda is also a trained Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteer, completing various training programs including SAR Skills for the Emergency Responder and Managing the Inland Search Function. As a longstanding MMIP advocate for eight years, Rhonda is personally dedicated to this cause following the tragic loss of her nephew, Matthews Grant, who went missing and was murdered in 2016.
Theodora Weatherwax
CHAIRPERSON
Theodora is a respected elder and cultural advisor, providing guidance to ensure project activities are aligned with Blackfeet traditions. They help build community trust, support culturally appropriate communication, and facilitate healing circles and cultural events. Theodora recently retired after 42 years with the Browning School District, where she served as a Teacher Assistant, Teacher, and Principal Assistant. She graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelor of Arts degree and furthered her education with a Master’s in Education from Montana State University. Theodora is committed to educational equity and community service, playing a vital role in advocating for local youth and families. Theodora is also a trained Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteer, completing various training programs including SAR Skills for the Emergency Responder and Managing the Inland Search Function.
Marla NightGun
Vice Chairperson
Marla manages project logistics, finances, and reporting. They have extensive experience in grant administration, financial management, and organizational operations, ensuring compliance and smooth workflow. Marla is a Certified Technician with the Blackfeet Food Distribution Center, where she manages food resources to support families in need. Marla actively organizes various community events focused on youth engagement and empowerment, helping foster resilience and connection among young community members. Her dedication to community service and on-the-ground support is invaluable to our efforts.
Robert DesRosier
Retired from the Blackfeet Tribal Council as acting Vice Chairman.
During his tenure as acting Vice Chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Council, Robert's involvement in law enforcement, and his graduation from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy signify a strong commitment to public safety and community resilience. Such roles often complement efforts to secure grants aimed at enhancing local and tribal capabilities in homeland security.
Attended the Montana Law Enforcement Academy where he graduated and served as a Montana Highway Patrolman.
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Ivan McDonald
Ivan MacDonald is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and an enrolled member of the Blackfeet tribe. His most recent project, Bring Them Home, won the Big Sky Award at the 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Bring Them Home is executive-produced and narrated by Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone. He was an inaugural fellow for the Netflix and Illuminative Producers fellowship and was an inaugural recipient of the Hulu and Firelight Kindling fund. Currently, he is the 2024 Mark Silverman honoree for Sundance’s Producing Lab. With his sister Ivy, he is also directing When They Were Here, which is a feature-length documentary about the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls crisis told through the lens of their family and community. Sundance, ITVS, and IDA have supported his work.
Films/Projects
Breaking the Silence Director (In-development) — 2023-TBD
Breaking the Silence is a feature-length film that is currently in development with Hulu. Told through the lens of the technology being used to uncover the bodies buried beneath Indigenous Residential Schools, the film follows two women working to bring this dark history to light.
Buffalo Stone Producer (in-development) — 2023-TBD
I am developing and producing my first feature narrative film titled Iniskim, or Buffalo Stone. This film will be directed by my sister Ivy MacDonald and Daniel Glick.
When They Were Here Director (in production) — 2018-TBD
When They Were Here is a feature-length documentary set on the Blackfeet reservation and follows the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls crisis, through the lens of my family. The film has received support from ITVS, Chicken and Egg Pictures, and The Sundance Film Institute. The film is currently in production and is set to be completed in 2024. It will air nationally on PBS in 2025
Bring Them Home Director — 2021-2024
Bring Them Home is about the Blackfeet Tribe's, my tribe’s, efforts to restore and bring back wild Bison to their ancestral homelands. It is narrated and executive produced by Oscar Nominated Actress Lily Gladstone.
Murder in Bighorn — 2021-2023
I developed and produced a three-part documentary series for Showtime. The series is set on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations and is about the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls crisis. It premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and aired nationally on Showtime in 2023. The series was directed by Matthew Galkin Fairhaven Films and Lakota/Dine Director Razelle Benally.
Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible — 2018-2020
Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible is a short documentary set on the Blackfeet Reservation. It follows the story of the Blackfeet Boxing Club and its efforts to empower young women and girls. The film is set against the backdrop of the violence against indigenous women epidemic and features the story of Ashely Loring Heavyrunner who went missing on the reservation in 2017. The film premiered on ESPN's 30 for 30 program in 2020 and won Best Documentary Short at the 2021 Sports Emmy's.
Education
University of Montana — Masters in Social Work, 2018
While in school I completed research with the University, the ACLU, and the CKST Tribes’ Tribal Defender Program centered on the lived experience of incarcerated indigenous women at the Montana State Women’s Prison.
Fellowships/Labs
Fourth World Media Lab Fellow 2018
I was a part of Tracy Rector's Fourth World Media Lab. While in the program I developed my first feature documentary film which was later supported by ITVS.
Firelight Media Documentary Lab Fellow - 2019-2021
In 2019 I was named a fellow for Firelight Media's Documentary Lab. I further developed my first feature documentary, titled When They Were Here. While in the program I worked with my mentor award-winning Chinook Filmmaker Sky Hopinka.
Netflix’s IllumiNative Producers Program - 2022-2023
I was an inaugural fellow with Netflix’s and IllumiNative Producers Program.
Sundance Producers Lab - 2024-2025
I am the 2024 Mark Silverman honoree for Sundance’s Non-Fiction Producer Lab
Welcome
to Our Site
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Our goal of empowering and offering healing pathway our team is deeply personal and rooted in the community's own experiences of loss and trauma.
VOLUNTEERS
Each of our members are certified in outreach search and rescue. Blackfeet MMIP help bring home missing loved ones who have walked away from treatment facilities, group homes, are in situations where they lack additional help, means of funding, and providing support and resources to vulnerable individuals and families.
VALUED PARTNER
Laurah Norton, is a writer, researcher, and host of The Fall Line podcast. On The Fall Line, Laurah focuses on cold cases from the American Southeast. She also hosts One Strange Thing podcast that shares unexplainable stories found in American news archives.
Laurah has 16 years of research and writing experience as a former academic in literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and archival and primary research.
Laurah released Lay Them to Rest in 2023, a true-crime book that shares Laurah’s experience while assisting in identifying a Jane Doe homicide victim found in an Illinois state park in 1993.
Laurah volunteers for the Board of Directors of the nonprofit, Season of Justice; she joined after seeing how many families were helped through awareness grants for their loved ones’ cases. She works with families, experts, and law enforcement in the Southeast and beyond to make sure cold cases that have received little attention get a media platform.
VALUED PARTNER
Ohkomi Forensics is an Indigenous-led, Montana-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides forensic services to the Indigenous communities and families affected by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) crisis.
For forensic consultation and case evaluation, please contact:
Executive Director, Haley Omeasoo at Haley.omeasoo@ohkomiforensics.com or
visit their website at www.ohkomiforensics.com.