SPOONER — Unknown. Due to cases going unreported and racial data on missing persons being poorly tracked, the actual number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives (MMIWR) across the United States is unknown.
Even being underreported, the National Crime Information Center had over 5,487 missing Indigenous women and girls reported in 2022; of those 75% were minors.
American Indian women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average. Homicide is the third leading cause of death among those ages 1 to 19 for American Indian and Alaska Native women, according to the Centers for Disease Control. These aren’t just numbers; they’re mothers, sisters and daughters.
Historically excluded populations are at the greatest risk to experience sexual violence. Indigenous people are twice as likely to experience sexual violence compared to other races. Ninety-six percent of Indigenous people who identify as female experience violence at the hands of non-Indigenous people.
According to Waking Women’s Healing Institute, “This is a historical issue rooted in racism, gender based violence and settler colonialism. Since first contact in the so-called Americas, settler colonials have raped, murdered and trafficked Indigenous women and girls. This violence is still happening today due to lack of data, jurisdictional confusion and the intentional silencing of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous grassroots advocates are working to change that narrative and are rising up to fight for the missing, murdered and those yet to be born.”
The pervasiveness of this injustice represents a dire need to (1) address the systemic barriers that allow this horrific reality to persist and (2) amplify the voices of MMIWR advocates and families who work tirelessly to share their stories, demanding justice and the restoration of safety.
Since 2021, May 5 is recognized as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Women and Relatives. The congressional resolution to designate May 5 as a national awareness day was first introduced in 2017 in memory of Hanna Harris (Northern Cheyenne) who was murdered in July 2013.
You can get involved on May 5 by sharing a photo of yourself on social media wearing red and/or traditional attire and having a conversation with your community about MMIWR. Red is the official color of the #MMIWR campaign because in various tribes, it is known to be the only color spirits can see. It is hoped that by wearing red, the missing spirits of the women and children will be called back home. Make sure to use hashtags #NoMoreStolenSisters, #MMIWG and #MMIWR when you share on social media.
Waking Women Healing Institute proudly launched a Story Map Project for Healing and Justice for MMIWR in 2021. This is the first of many that will form a collection of interactive Story Maps to uplift voice and ignite healing for those impacted by MMIWR. Visit https://www.wakingwomenhealingint.org/ to learn more about the violence indigenous people have and continue to experience in the United States today.
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