Uprising, an organization based in Sheridan, is dedicated to preventing and spreading awareness about human trafficking, which has a presence in Wyoming.

Uprising held presentations in Powell last week in the Yellowstone Building at Northwest College, including a closed event attended by local first responders and community leaders on Friday.

“Today, I’m going to give you guys what I call a community update, a little bit of basic information about what trafficking actually is versus what the picture in your head might be,” Uprising co-founder Terri Markham said to start the presentation. “The types of stuff that we have seen around the state and the work that’s currently being done, and then where your community might be able to take action.”

Markham spoke to the group about the misconception that human trafficking always involves things like abduction and the trucking industry. She clarified that trafficking does not have to involve abduction or movement in any form. Informational material provided by Uprising defines sex trafficking as follows: 

“Human trafficking is when a person is forced or manipulated into providing commerical sex acts or forced labor, and a third party or employer is profiting off the exchange.”

Adults can legally consent to commercial sex acts, but minors cannot so any instance of a minor engaging in commercial sex is immediately sex trafficking.

While there are roughly 25 identified forms of sex trafficking, Markham spoke to several that Uprising has come across,
including pimp-controlled trafficking, gang-controlled trafficking and familial trafficking.  

Pimp-controlled trafficking is trafficking where an individual is exploited by someone who uses the dark web to find where there is demand for commercial sex and takes those individuals there. Gang-controlled trafficking is trafficking controlled by a gang. Markham says his organization has received reports from Uprising partners on reservations that this type of trafficking happens there. 

Familial trafficking is the most common form of sex trafficking Markham has seen in Wyoming. This form of trafficking is when a parent or family member sells their child in exchange for money or drugs.

Markham also warns the community of cases where an individual will pose as a girl and target boys on messaging platforms.  Boys are coaxed into sending photos and then held  ransom with the threat of sending photos to family and friends. 

Labor trafficking is another form of human trafficking that can occur in Wyoming. 

“We have received a few disclosures of potential labor trafficking, and all of those have come from Park County,” Markham said. “And they’re all related to your tourism industry here.”

Labor trafficking victims are exploited for cheap labor or are paid nothing at all. They can be foreign citizens brought over by employers, or young runaways; they often have to live at the worksite. 

Powell Police Chief Roy Eckerdt agreed with Markham that individuals should call if they suspect they may have come across a trafficking victim. 

“I tell people it’s like a jigsaw puzzle. Have you ever tried to put a jigsaw puzzle together without corners or the side pieces? It’s pretty hard to do,” Eckerdt said.  “So that little bit of something that you observed may not be the answer that day. But it might be a piece of that puzzle that helps us build the big picture.”