MMIW- Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women- October Issue

Dear Parents,

A few months ago, I took two of my daughters to the Yakama Nation. We spent a week with
the people there, serving the elders and learning about their beautiful culture and history. We
toured boarding schools, sat in talking circles, and harvested tule reeds for weaving crafts. It
was such a rich experience, and I will never forget the strength and resilience I saw there.

While I was visiting the reservation, I saw symbolism on building walls, murals, and signs – a red
hand, covering a mouth. I learned that the red hand is representative of a movement called
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). MMIW has multiple branches including
MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) and MMIW&P (Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Women and People). The red hand stands for all of the missing sisters,
daughters, friends, and mothers whose voices will not be heard. I saw the red hand again at
the Museum at Warm Springs, in an exhibit called “Portraits in Red: Missing &Murdered
Indigenous People Project”. (Nayanaarts, n.d.)

It is easy, as a white American, to think I have a semi-accurate picture of American Indian’s
history in this country. I knew I had a lot to learn going into this trip but learning about MMIW
has opened my eyes to just how much I don’t know, and how important it is to learn.

From my time on the Yakama and Warm Springs reservations, I have learned that native
women go missing frequently. And they are never recovered. Justice is never found.
According to the Department of Justice, and a study by the National Indigenous Women’s
Resource Center, Native Americans represented 40 % of trafficked individuals, even though
they only accounted for 10 percent of the studied population. (Deer, 2012)

According to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center:
 4 in 5 Native women and girls experience violence in their lifetime.

 In some counties, Native women and girls are murdered at 10 times the national
average. Disappearances and murders are often connected to domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking. (The National Indigenous
Women’s Resource Center, Inc., n.d.)

In 2018, the Urban Indian Health Institute did a study collecting data in the US:

 506 missing and murdered women and girls were identified from 71 urban cities in the
United States. 280 of these were murdered and 128 were missing. 98 cases were left
undetermined.
 29 is the median age of MMIW victims. In 2018, the youngest was a baby less than one
year old and the oldest was an elder who was 83.
 More than 95% of the cases in this study were never covered by national or
international media. (Urban Indian Health Institute, 2023)

Can I just repeat this? 95% of cases were never covered by the media! Can you imagine this
many missing white people not being covered by the press? What I came to learn is that there
are dozens of barriers keeping Indigenous women from being recovered and justice being
found. Underreporting is just part of it.

On reservations, law enforcement jurisdiction is challenging and layered. Crimes committed
against tribal members are pursued and prosecuted by tribal police and federal law
enforcement. This means local and state government police are often unable, limited, or
unwilling to participate in the recovery of missing women, even if the native women are living
in their community. Data and communication between multiple law enforcement groups
complicates rescue and prosecution efforts.

Crimes against boys, men, and Two-Spirit Indigenous people (LGBTQ individuals) are also a
devastating problem. Sexual assault and physical violence are committed against 78% to 85%
of Indigenous Two-Spirit individuals. (Balsam et al., 2005)

The risk of rape or sexual assault is 2.5 times higher for Native women than for the rest of the
country. Systemic racism, underreporting, misclassification, and the ongoing distrust of law
enforcement are contributing to the invisible nature of these crimes. MMIW is not an
organization. It is a movement to help bring these crimes to light and to help Indigenous
women find hope and advocacy in being seen and honored. (USDOJ, 2024)

To learn more, I spent some time with an incredible woman, Kola Shippentower, of Umatilla.She is an advocate and speaker, traveling the country on behalf of Native women. She is asurvivor of domestic and sexual violence and now works with communities, schools, and government agencies to find hope and preventative solutions for Indigenous women. (Beveridge, 2021) She explained, “This affects all of us. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t experienced the loss of someone we love.”

I asked her what she thought parents should know. She said three things that I’ll never forget. I hope you won’t either.

1. “Please see us.” Women and all Indigenous people who are victims of violent crime
have undergone tremendous harm through historical and intergenerational trauma.
This does not mean they are weak. Kola, like most native people I have been blessed to
know, has a fierce strength and capacity for resilience in the face of adversity. Despite
the added layers of systemic trauma and cultural harm, they strive to be known and
valued, just like we all do.

2. “We will advocate for ourselves.” No one knows the needs of Indigenous people like
they do. 87% of American Native people don’t live on reservations and are living in your
neighborhoods. Their kids are going to school with yours. (American Indian/Alaska
Native Health, n.d.) Talk to them. Invest in their organizations and non-profits. Listen
to their stories. Hear about their hardships and celebrate their victories. Recognize that
their solutions and ideas will work best for them.

3. “It is never too early to talk about safety with your children.” Kola works with people
of all ages, helping them know how to protect themselves and uncover their own
strength. She is a mixed martial artist, helping train others in self-defense. Through the
Wisáwca Project, she also uses safety planning to educate women on how to be aware.
It includes things like naming emergency contacts and appropriate lengths of time
between check-ins. If your person doesn’t check in with you in the pre-arranged
amount of time, the safety plan has already been created and the next steps are taken.
She teaches people how to be in tune with the details. What clothes are people
wearing? What are the makes and models of cars? Kola has several resources she is
very happy to share with you, from safety plan worksheets to in-person training. I will
be using her safety plan with my children. 

You can reach her at this link.

What is IN OUR BACKYAARD doing? We are partnering with the Tribal Convenience Store
Association

to help bring Freedom stickers to every convenience store bathroom on tribal land.
We are also working to provide education to employees on what to look for and how to help if
human trafficking is suspected.

If you are interested in learning more about this topic, trafficking within Indigenous
communities, or how best to help, please reach out to In Our Backyard or directly to Kola
Shippentower.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about the hard things in this world and for your courage
in helping find hope.

With hope for a better future for our kids,
Gina

References:
American Indian/Alaska Native health. (n.d.). Office of Minority Health. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/american-indianalaska-native-health#:~:text=Based%20on%202020%20U.S.%20Census,on%20reservations%20or%20Tribal%20lands.

Balsam, K., Huang, B., Fieland, K., Simoni, J., & Walters, K. (2005). Culture, Trauma, and
Wellness: A comparison of Heterosexual and lesbian, gay, Bisexual, and Two-Spirit Native
Americans. Cultral Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 10(3), 287–301.

Beveridge, P. (2021, December 24). Kola — 365 days, 365 women. 365 Days, 365 Women.
https://www.365days365women.com/meet-the-women/kola

Deer, S. (2012). Garden of Truth.
https://open.mitchellhamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1226&context=facsch

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) | NIWRC. (n.d.).
https://www.niwrc.org/mmiwr-awareness

Nayanaarts. (n.d.). Nayana LaFond – Artist. Nayana LaFond – Artist.
https://nayanaarts.com/portraits-in-red

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc. (n.d.). The National Indigenous
Women’s Resource Center, Inc.
https://www.niwrc.org/sites/default/files/files/NIWRC_Brochure_21.pdf

Urban Indian Health Institute. (2023, January 25). Our bodies, our stories – Urban Indian Health
Institute. https://www.uihi.org/projects/our-bodies-our-stories/

The Wisawca project. (n.d.). https://enoughizenough.regfox.com/the-wisawca-project

Who is the most vulnerable to human trafficking? (n.d.).
https://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/04-
2024/human_trafficking.html#:~:text=In%20a%20National%20Indigenous%20Women's,the%20
population%20in%20those%20areas.