Chelsea Curtis
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chelcurtis.bsky.social
Chelsea Curtis
@chelcurtis.bsky.social
Diné | Journalist @azluminaria.org uncovering data and stories about #MMIWG2T #MMIP

📍 Arizona
🗞️ https://tinyurl.com/bddd3hdr
Pinned
Created a #starterpack of Indigenous journalists (and news orgs amplifying Indigenous stories) I’ve found so far on @bsky.app! Pls reach out if you know of anyone I should add.

go.bsky.app/Mgp9P4T
NEW from me: No Turquoise Alert for Navajo teen amplifies questions about Arizona's endangered children and new missing person system azluminaria.org/2025/11/06/n... via @azluminaria.org
No Turquoise Alert for Navajo teen amplifies questions about Arizona's endangered children and new missing person system - AZ Luminaria
When 14-year-old Neveah Alessandro Campos ran away from her uncle’s home in Glendale Saturday afternoon, her mother Ashley Alessandro gave her a day to come back. But when she didn’t, Ashley did what ...
azluminaria.org
November 7, 2025 at 12:40 AM
New from me: Pascua Yaqui Tribe pauses council meeting livestream change after community concerns over access, transparency azluminaria.org/2025/10/10/p... via @azluminaria.org
Pascua Yaqui Tribe pauses council meeting livestream change after community concerns over access, transparency - AZ Luminaria
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s decision to stop livestreaming its council meetings on social media was paused this week following community concerns over transparency and access. Chairman Julian Hernandez r...
azluminaria.org
October 10, 2025 at 5:12 PM
✨Some personal news, as they say✨

While I’m still half expecting a correction any day now, I’m incredibly honored to be named a 2024 Virg Hill Arizona Journalist of the Year. Congrats to @emilybregel.bsky.social & Jason Wolf, who were also recognized for this award.
September 26, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
For over 100 days, journalist Mario Guevara has been detained by U.S. law enforcement for his livestream reporting.

He is the only journalist behind bars for his journalism, and he could be deported for doing his job.

We demand his immediate release.

freedomformario.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:09 PM
#ICYMI Safety changes to Maricopa County sheriff meetings in Latino racial profiling case await federal judge’s order via @azluminaria.org azluminaria.org/2025/09/22/s...
Safety changes to Maricopa County sheriff meetings in Latino racial profiling case await federal judge’s order - AZ Luminaria
Amid growing concern over political violence, Latino community leaders and Republican officials alike await a federal judge’s orders on tightening security at community meetings tied to a longstanding...
azluminaria.org
September 23, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Thanks so much @apnews.com for sharing! Last week, @azluminaria.org broke the story on the Gila River Indian Community’s proposed banishment ordinance for tribal members convicted of violent crimes, marking the first move of its kind in Arizona. apnews.com/article/crim...
Gila River Indian Community considers ordinance to banish or disenroll members who commit crimes
The Gila River Indian Community in Arizona is considering a new ordinance that would allow for tribal members to be banished or disenrolled if they are convicted of crimes.
apnews.com
September 2, 2025 at 11:30 PM
New, from me: Gila River Indian Community weighs banishment ordinance, a first for Arizona tribes azluminaria.org/2025/08/29/g...
Gila River Indian Community weighs banishment ordinance, a first for Arizona tribes - AZ Luminaria
The Gila River Indian Community is weighing a new ordinance that would allow for the banishment and disenrollment of tribal members convicted of violent crimes. If adopted, the proposal would mark the...
azluminaria.org
August 29, 2025 at 5:37 PM
“Being an immigrant is risky:" ICE enforcement drives Arizona families to online fundraising platforms azluminaria.org/2025/07/30/b... via @azluminaria.org
“Being an immigrant is risky:" ICE enforcement drives Arizona families to online fundraising platforms - AZ Luminaria
Georges Maskini is no stranger to being told he doesn’t belong. His parents fled political persecution in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sought refuge in South Africa in 2000, where Georges was ...
azluminaria.org
July 30, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
Exclusive: Records obtained by Arizona Luminaria tie Amazon to a massive Tucson area data center that has been shrouded in secrecy until now
Amazon Web Services is company behind Tucson’s Project Blue, according to 2023 county memo - AZ Luminaria
Amazon Web Services is revealed to be the company behind the Project Blue data center proposed for Tucson.
azluminaria.org
July 22, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Officials confirm Emily’s Law wouldn’t have applied to Emily Pike’s case, bringing renewed attention to gaps in missing person alerts for children labeled runaways azluminaria.org/2025/05/22/r... via @azluminaria.org #MMIP
Runaway label concerns raised at Hobbs’ bill signing ceremony for law named to honor Emily Pike - AZ Luminaria
During Gov. Katie Hobbs' ceremonial signing of "Emily's Law" on Wednesday, an Arizona Department of Public Safety official confirmed the new Turquoise Alert will not cover runaways.
azluminaria.org
May 22, 2025 at 4:46 PM
“This is for shíyázhí Emily Pike”: New missing person alert bill unanimously passes AZ House, heads to Gov. Hobbs for signature azluminaria.org/2025/05/07/t... via @azluminaria.org #MMIP
“This is for shíyázhí Emily Pike”: New missing person alert bill unanimously passes AZ House - AZ Luminaria
A measure that would establish a new missing person alert system in Arizona was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, advancing to Gov. Katie Hobbs for final approval.  Hous...
azluminaria.org
May 7, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Celebrate #WorldPressFreedomDay by supporting independent journalism! 🌎 @azluminaria.org has launched its 2025 Spring membership campaign that doubles every donation made to our newsroom. Help us continue to bring you more of the coverage that matters and strengthen local news! 🕯️🔗 shorturl.at/nuu2n
Membership - AZ Luminaria
Support quality journalism by joining us today!
shorturl.at
May 2, 2025 at 8:54 PM
UPDATE: Keisha Kootswatewa’s family believes she may be among multiple sets of remains found on the Navajo Nation, potentially bringing their three-year search to an end. Charges have been filed in connection with some of the remains — but not hers. via @azluminaria.org #MMIP
Hopi family’s search for Keisha Kootswatewa may be nearing an answer 3 years after disappearance - AZ Luminaria
A Hopi family’s search for Keisha Kootswatewa — missing since 2022 — has been unwavering.  Leading the charge was her cousin, Yolanda Bydonie. She created missing person flyers. Organized ground searc...
azluminaria.org
May 2, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
Recent amendments to the bill address a discrepancy that would have excluded Emily Pike’s case, despite recently renaming the legislation in her honor

story via @chelcurtis.bsky.social/@azluminaria.org
Arizona’s missing person alert bill amended to address exclusion of Emily Pike’s case
A measure that would establish a new missing person alert system in Arizona was amended Wednesday to include minors
azmirror.com
May 2, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Lawmakers have amended Arizona’s Turquoise Alert bill — addressing a previous gap in the bill’s language that would’ve excluded Emily Pike, the Indigenous teen it was named after azluminaria.org/2025/05/01/a... via @azluminaria.org #MMIP
Arizona’s missing person alert bill amended to address exclusion of Emily Pike’s case - AZ Luminaria
A measure that would establish a new missing person alert system in Arizona was amended Wednesday to include minors — addressing a previous gap in the bill’s language that excluded Emily Pike, an Indi...
azluminaria.org
May 1, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Emily Pike’s brutal murder has been used to rally support for legislation creating a new alert system for missing people. But as it’s written, the proposed law — now named in the San Carlos Apache teen’s honor — wouldn’t help in missing cases like hers because of its age criteria.
Emily’s Law wouldn’t have helped Emily: Proposed Arizona alert highlights gaps for runaway youth - AZ Luminaria
A proposed state law named for 14-year-old Emily Pike — a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe who went missing and was later found dead — would not have applied to her disappearance. That’s because ...
azluminaria.org
April 18, 2025 at 4:42 PM
ICYMI: A critical report created to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous People in Arizona and across the country has been removed from federal websites as the Trump administration continues to slash DEI measures
March 29, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
Trump's anti-DEI crusade deleted a report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. It was created under the Not Invisible Act, which Trump signed in his first term.

via @chelcurtis.bsky.social/@azluminaria.bsky.social
Landmark MMIP report removed from federal websites as Trump administration targets DEI initiatives  • Arizona Mirror
The MMIP report, created under the Not Invisible Act, was hailed as a groundbreaking effort to combat violence and systemic challenges Indigenous communities face nationwide
azmirror.com
March 28, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
I was honored to write for @lookoutnews.bsky.social Spring Issue! I spoke with Tucson’s trans Poet Laureate, TC Tolbert on resilience, the power of poetry & community, Indigenous & genderqueer history and our future

@transjournalists.org #transjoy #queerpoets

www.lookoutnews.org/how-poetry-a...
March 26, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
Listening to Chelsea Curtis talk about how she used freedom of information laws to uncover stories & build a database about Indigenous people who are missing or were murdered across Arizona: azluminaria.org/mmip-arizona/ #SunshineFest #SunshineWeek #OpenGov #ddj
March 20, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
🚨 Update: we were able to track down Yesenia, the mother picked up with her 2 kids in Tucson.

After a night of interrogation at Border Patrol station, the Venezuelan mother of 4 was deported to Mexico.

Her husband and two of her kids remain in US.
azluminaria.org/2025/02/16/v...
February 16, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
Between May 2023 and Sep 2024, 30% of heat deaths were in mobile homes or RVs.

An analysis of Pima County medical examiner data by @jbwashington.bsky.social and I dug into the numbers to show how rising heat x mobile homes create a deadly combination

azluminaria.org/2025/02/17/s...
‘Suffering hidden from view:’ Mobile home and RV residents in Pima County die from heat at high rates  - AZ Luminaria
Rincon Country RV Resorts on the southwest side of Tucson is surrounded by gently rolling hills populated with saguaros. On the highest hill stands a small church with a white cross.  On the last day ...
azluminaria.org
February 17, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Chelsea Curtis
@cacuella.bsky.social and I wrote about unhoused communities in Tucson relying on patchwork of resources to stay warm amid freezing temps

Click to learn about the people who kindly shared their survival strategies, stay for the list of shelters + mutual aid distros

azluminaria.org/2025/01/16/a...
As Tucson temps plummet, homeless communities move among a patchwork of resources - AZ Luminaria
For Laurie, the biting winter temperatures mean making a careful calculation about where she should sleep each night.  The 67-year-old weighs whether to spend about $40 a night of her monthly Social S...
azluminaria.org
January 16, 2025 at 6:16 PM