Whitney Williams, who established the Snowbird Fund, said in speaking with community members, she learned that many Indigenous families must conduct their own searches when a loved one goes missing.

Though Native Americans comprise 6.7% of Montana’s population, they account for, on average, 26% of the state’s active missing persons cases.

The Snowbird Fund was established by Montana businesswoman Whitney Williams. Whitney opened the fund at the Montana Community Foundation after hearing from family members impacted by MMIP, including a Crow tribal member, Grace Bulltail, whose 18-year-old niece, Kaysera Stops Pretty Places, was found murdered in Big Horn County in August 2019. The name of the fund references the Blackfeet name Snowbird “Issstotsistakii” given to Whitney by Marvin Weatherwax, Sr. of Browning, a member of the Blackfeet Nation and her instructor at the University of Montana where Whitney helped to establish the first native language program and received a minor in Native American Studies. Marvin said he gave Whitney the name because snowbirds (Juncos) are resilient and smart birds that don’t leave Montana in the winter.