Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Today is Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women’s Day of Awareness. Today we honor the lives of Native women and girls and help shed light on the countless tragedies.

We call on all those concerned for the safety of Native women to organize and support a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls.

In 2017, the Montana Congressional Delegation led the way for the passage of a Senate resolution declaring May 5th the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls (MMIWG) in response to the demands for justice following the murder of Hanna Harris at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in 2013. Due to the inadequate response of the justice system, her family and friends conducted the search for Hanna. The community also led marches for justice for Hanna and other unresolved murders of Native women. Since 2017, the national movement to end violence against Native women has organized activities supporting May 5th as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls.

The murder rate of Native women is more than ten times the national average on some reservations. These disappearances or murders are often connected to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking. The intersection of gender-based violence and MMIWG is heavily intertwined.

Native women continue to disappear, and many have been murdered. The issues surrounding missing and murdered Native women must continue to be elevated beyond public awareness for action and increased accountability of the justice systems. Turning our grief to action, we urge you to upon Congress to address:

1) the need for additional tribal victim services and tribal justice resources affirmed in several federal reports, including those identified in the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Broken Promises Report

2) the inadequate responses of the federal and state criminal justice systems that fail Native women.