Press Conference and Prayer Vigil for Jessica Alva

October 9th rally and press conference at San Francisco City Hall demands Justice for Jessica Alva and all Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Media Release: Contact Cindi Martin Wolfe 530-356-4742

What: Press Conference & Prayer Vigil for Jessica Alva  

When: Wednesday October 9, 2019, @ 12 Noon  

Where: City Hall Steps on Polk Street 

Who: Jessica Alva's immediate family members, community leadership, and Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women advocates & allies. 

On October 9th at 12 Noon the community will gather at City Hall  in prayer and love for Jessica Alva and all Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). All are invited to show solidarity with and love to Jessica’s children and all of the 134 families of California Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. 

As October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and marks the 6 month anniversary of her violent and senseless death, Jessica’s family and loved ones join with families of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in California calling for justice, healing and protection for all survivors of domestic violence and an end to the racist disparities in resources allocated for the investigation and prosecution of these crimes against Indigenous women at the local, state and national level.   

Jessica is profoundly missed and her absence compels her loved ones to call on the Office of the San Francisco District Attorney to address the protocol in cases where the deaths of women such as Jessica, who fought bravely for their lives before succumbing to their injuries in the hospital, are frequently not investigated and charged as homicides. This procedural mishandling leaves victims’ families with no closure and women with the message that their lives are not valued by law enforcement agencies. A committed Indigenous activist and mother of 6 children, Jessica Alva is remembered by all those that loved her as beautiful spirit. She fought courageously for her life for 3 days in San Francisco General Hospital after being found unresponsive, left for dead and badly beaten in her Bayview home. Claims were made that Jessica had attempted suicide. Her family’s testimony, and the documented evidence of her injuries, strongly suggest otherwise and it is unconscionable that the San Francisco Police Department did not further investigate to substantiate these highly suspicious claims. 

Restoring Justice for Indigenous Peoples joins with Sovereign Bodies Institute to stand with Jessica Alva’s family and the families of all Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women to urge the community to join efforts to ensure our missing sisters and relatives are not forgotten by public officials in San Francisco. We call for action to address the epidemic of domestic violence in a culturally competent manner to provide pathways of healing to survivors. 

Confirmed speakers include: 

*Cindy Martin-Wolfe- Mother of Jessica Alva, Justice For Jessica Coalition

*SF Supervisor Vallie Brown- City Board of Supervisors 

* Lauri Hayward Davis, Pit River Tribe - Opening Prayer & Ceremony

*Oakland Family Justice Center 

*SF Commission on the Status of Women 

*SF Native American Health Center -Drummers & Singers

*San Francisco Friendship House of American Indians 

*Annita Lucchesi - Sovereign Bodies Institute

*Morning Star Gali- Restoring Justice for Indigenous Peoples

* April McGill - California Consortium for Urban Indian Health

*Marge Grow-Eppard, Women's Spiritual Leader and President of MMIW&P of CA

*Suzy Loftus- Candidate for SF District Attorney 

*Beverly Upton- SF Domestic Violence Coalition

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