“The abuse of women is well known in history,
and tells you a lot about what is happening on our earth.”
LaDonna Brave Bull Allard
(Standing Rock Sioux)
Today is Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. We know this to be true: militarization, extractive industry, and colonization feeds the MMIR pandemic. Today we are sending solidarity to all our relatives, uplifting organizations doing MMIR work, and sharing resources to learn more.
Trigger Warning
Why We Honor Our Relatives Today
In 2017, Congress designated May 5 as National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. As Indigenous Peoples, we understand MMIR is a pandemic that must end. Murder rates for Indigenous wxmen are 10x the national average and 3rd leading cause of death.
On this Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, our hearts are heavy with the weight of collective trauma and loss. To our relatives who carry the pain of their missing loved ones– you are not alone. We stand with you in solidarity and empathy. In the face of unimaginable grief, you are a testament to the strength of our Peoples. Our voices together echo through generations, calling for justice and remembrance of those who were taken from us and became ancestors too soon.
Across nations and borders, we unite through the darkest of times. As we honor the memory of those who are no longer with us, we renew and uplift the call for justice and change. Today and every day, we stand together as relatives, resilient and unwavering in our pursuit of true healing. We will no longer be sacrifice zones.
In Numbers: MMIW Across Turtle Island
While the MMIR pandemic is well-known, with the U.S. Government Accountability Office has noted the lack of adequate data: "Research shows that violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women in the U.S. is a crisis…Cases of [MMIW] persist nationwide, but without more comprehensive case data in federal databases, the full extent of the problem is unknown."
Over 5,200 Indigenous wxmen and girls were missing in 2021–more than 2.5x their share of the U.S. population. -FBI's National Crime Information Center.
84% of Indigenous wxmen have reported experiencing violence at some point in their life.
94% of Indigenous wxmen have experienced r*pe or coercion. Of these, 42% attempted suicide after their attack; 34% binge drank on a weekly or daily basis after their attack; 8% of cases end in a conviction. -Urban Indian Health Institute.
Highest cities with MMIR cases (2017): Seattle, WA (45), Albuquerque, NM (37), Anchorage, AK (31), Tucson, AZ (31), Billings, MT (29), Gallup, NM (25)
2017 data of highest state with MMIR cases (not including U.S. territories and limited data available in occupied Hawai‘i): New Mexico (78), Washington (71), Arizona (54), Alaska (52), Montana (41), California (40)
In occupied Hawai‘i, efforts to collect MMIW data are underway as well but under-resourced and tied not only to extractive industry, but militarization and military presence as well.
96% of reported cases are perpetrated by non-Natives.
A Microcosm of the Earth: Historical Trauma from Colonization and MMIR
Just as the Earth has experienced colonization, the historical trauma our peoples have experienced is part of the intricate web colonization weaves. Violence against Indigenous Women, Girls, 2-Spirit, and Relatives is rooted in historical injustices and sustained by ongoing systemic oppression manifested through various mechanisms, perpetuating erasure and displacement.
Colonization has uniquely impacted Indigenous women, subjecting them to gender-based violence and erasure of cultural identity. From boarding schools which stripped away language and identity for over 30,000 Indigenous people in the United States, to the exploitation of women’s bodies by colonizers, Indigenous women have been at the forefront of colonial violence. Historical trauma stemming from centuries of oppression is carried through generations in our DNA. From shorter lifespans to higher rates of poverty and educational inequities, the legacies of colonization permeate every aspect of our livelihoods. Recognizing MMIR statistics not as inherent deficiencies but as the consequences of colonization is crucial and underscores the urgent need for healing and systemic change.
A Microcosm of the Earth: New Threats from Extraction and MMIR
For Indigenous Peoples, the connection between our bodies and the Earth is pivotal, yet often overlooked. As the Earth is pillaged for “natural resources” and the lifeblood waters of our Mother are contaminated, this same extraction impacts Indigenous Women and feeds the MMIR pandemic.
Green Colonialism Masquerading as Green Solutions
Extractive industries, including new threats from extractive projects for lithium and uranium extraction posing as “green solutions,” are driven by economic gains. These industries have exploited our lands for decades, leading to devastating consequences. From chemical manufacturing and waste dumping to the influx of "man camps" for industry workers, environmental violence has resulted in a myriad of social, health, and cultural challenges, including sexual and domestic violence, reproductive illnesses, and threats to Indigenous lifeways.
Insatiable Demand for Natural Resources Leads to Violence + Man Camps
Indigenous lands across Turtle Island, with significant reserves of oil, gas, coal, uranium deposits, and tar sands in Canada, bring extraction in a growth-driven global economy and protection of the Earth and Peoples to clash head-on. This collision places our Peoples, particularly women and young people, on the front lines of environmental violence and exploitation.
The influx of primarily male, non-Native industry workers into Indigenous territories and the creation of “man camps”- temporary housing facilities for workers - brings with it a surge in sexual violence and other social issues, including drugs, crime, and sexual assaults. This exacerbates the already disproportionate levels of violence experienced by Indigenous women and young people.
Corporations Know Man Camps Tied to Trafficking
Trafficking of Indigenous womxn and youth is a known risk at the nexus of industry. For example, in 2022, Enbridge paid $2.2 million to aid Minnesota state in policing Indigenous Peoples protesting the Line 3 pipeline and addressing anticipated cases of human trafficking. The impact of normalized violence against Indigenous bodies is compounded by geographical isolation and legal impunity.
Data is Inadequate to Capture Harm or Impunity
While data provides a glimpse into the complexity of MMIR, it fails to capture the full extent of the social, environmental, and cultural harm on Indigenous Peoples or the resulting impunity in MMIR cases. In Canada alone where tar sands abound, between 1980 and 2012, there were 1,181 unresolved incidents. The tragedies of MMIR underscore a deep connection with colonialism and patriarchy, and thus the structural nature of this violence and similar need to address this problem from its systematic roots.
Indigenous Resilience Finding a Path Forward
Beyond the violence, there is also a narrative of resilience, resistance, and leadership among Indigenous women and young people, who are weaving together issues of sovereignty, environmentalism, feminism, and anti-colonialism. Through tradition, ceremony, and community-centered approaches in a fight against oppressive systems, environmental violence and exploitation, they are forging pathways toward protection and healing.
A Microcosm of the Earth: Militarization and MMIR
The proximity of military installations to Indigenous lands and communities exacerbates existing vulnerabilities and perpetuates cycles of harm: Indigenous women, girls, and 2-Spirit relatives face heightened risks of violence and exploitation.
These lived experiences around or on military bases underscore the urgent need for accountability and justice. These cases illuminate the systemic violence and discrimination faced by our Peoples. They demand a reckoning with the structural inequalities and historical injustices that continue to shape their experiences.
The intersection of militarization and colonization compounds the challenges faced by our Peoples, contributing to higher rates of sexual assault, domestic violence, and trafficking. This reality underscores the imperative of intersectional approaches to addressing violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2-Spirit relatives.
The Invisible Crisis: Native Hawaiian Women and Girls
While Hawai‘i is known as one of the most beautiful places in the world, Native Hawaiian women and girls face disproportionately high rates of violence. Called "the invisible crisis," MMIR in Hawai‘i stems from militarization, fetishization of Indigenous bodies, systemic disregard and a lack of accessible data. The true scope remains obscured by limited statistics, perpetuating the erasure of their experiences.
Holoi ā nalo Wāhine ‘Ōiwi: Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women and Girls Task Force Report (2022) delves into the societal, economic, and historical factors perpetuating violence and erasure. It broadens definitions of "missing" and "murdered" to include those affected by systemic injustices like trafficking and the military-prostitution complex.
Statistics paint a grim picture: a quarter of missing girls in Hawai‘i are Native Hawaiian, with Hawai‘i ranking eighth in missing persons per capita nationally. A significant portion of sex trafficking cases involve Kānaka Maoli girls, with a concerning number linked to military personnel.
Resources
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC): Access toolkits for support or healing resources. niwrc.org
Three Sisters Collective (3SC) threesisterscollective.org/mmiwgt2sresources
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW) csvanw.org
Holoi ā nalo Wāhine ‘Ōiwi: Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women and Girls Task Force Report (Part 1)
Urban Indian Health Institute www.uihi.org
Native Youth Sexual Health Network nativeyouthsexualhealth.com
Violence on the Land, Violence on our Bodies landbodydefense.org
Sources to Learn More
Wind River, 2017 Film
Safe Passage by Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) safe-passage.ca
MMIW Database by Sovereign Bodies sovereign-bodies.org/mmiw-database
Why Aren’t Fossil Fuel Companies Held Accountable for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women?, Yes Magazine, Abaki Beck, 2019
Big Oil is fueling the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Greenpeace, Kaitlin Grable, 2021
The Darkest Side of Fossil-Fuel Extraction, Scientific American, Barbara Clabots, 2019
Summer Blaze Aubrey, “Violence Against the Earth Begets Violence Against Women: An Analysis of the Correlation Between Large Extraction Projects and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and the Laws that Permit the Phenomenon Through an International Human Rights Lens” (2019), Arizona Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
Thank you for taking time to learn about this important issue and a reality we are facing every day. Below we are linking "Remember Me" by Fawn Wood, a song commonly sung in community spaces to honor these loved ones. We hold our community and families close, those who are with us, those who are missing, and those who have become ancestors too soon.
In solidarity,
Water Protector Legal Collective
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