Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

 


A presidential proclamation was issued yesterday (May 4, 2021) to address an issue I have come to understand only recently, with help from my friend Eugene Tapahe. The proclamation signed by President Biden addresses the issues of "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women" (MMIW) eloquently, but deserves much more publicity than it is receiving.
Thousands of Native American women and girls have been murdered (10 times the national rate) or have disappeared in recent years in the US and Canada. "In 2016, 5712 women and girls were reported missing, but only 116 were logged by the US Department of Justice federal missing persons database." As with the Black citizens of our country, there is a clear inequality in how the legal system responds to Native Americans. A brief summary of additional aspects of the crisis is provided by Wikipedia: "In the US, Native American women are more than twice as likely to experience violence than any other demographic. One in three Native women is sexually assaulted during her life, and 67% of these assaults are perpetrated by non-Natives."
The history of the mistreatment of native Americans throughout North & South America by mostly European colonizers, especially in the first few centuries after the "discovery" of these continents, is shameful and appalling. But the problems didn't end when the Indigenous people were pushed onto reservations and mostly forgotten. It has persisted in various forms for over five centuries.
The proclamation signed by President Biden includes these words: "We recognize there is a level of mistrust of the United States Government in many Native communities, stemming from a long history of broken promises, oppression, and trauma. That is why we are pursuing ways to build trust in our Government and the systems designed to provide support to families in need. We must bridge the gap for families in crisis, provide necessary support services, and support opportunities for healing through holistic community-driven approaches." Those are fine words and an appropriate statement of resolve. But only if there is real action to follow will the words have any meaning.
My heart aches to comprehend the tragedy that each murdered, missing, abused, or mistreated woman represents to that individual and to those who love her. But I #GiveThanks for growing awareness of the need to change and improve our system, to prevent these tragedies, and to find and prosecute the perpetrators.
The proclamation:
For additional resources and insights, see:

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