#RedForMMIWG2S, #NoMoreMMIW, #MMIWG2S
National Indigenous Women’s Rights Center:
“May 5th is the birthday of Hanna Harris (Northern Cheyenne) who went missing and was found murdered on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in 2013. Since then, Native families, advocates, and Indigenous nations have risen to challenge the silence, tolerance, and inaction in response to the crisis of MMIWG(g2S). Locally, community searches and actions, tribal press conferences, justice marches continue to draw attention and urgency to the MMIWG(g,2S) crisis, reflecting the long-standing call in holding governments publicly accountable for the perpetrators allowed to prey on Native women and girls with impunity. NIWRC is committed to lifting the voices of surviving family members to hold these failed systems accountable and responsible for this national crisis.“
“A congressional resolution to designate May 5th as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls has been introduced. The resolution was drafted in memory of Hanna Harris (Northern Cheyenne) who was murdered July, 2013. The resolution was first introduced in April 2016 on the same day that RoyLynn Rides Horse (Crow) passed away after having been beaten, burned, and left in a field to die. Nearly 200 tribal, national, and state organizations supported this resolution.
Will you?”
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
National Congress of American Indians: Policy Research Center
- Homicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 10-24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age. – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Homicide
- 56.1% of women experienced sexual violence, 55.5% experienced physical violence by an intimate partner, 48.8% experienced stalking, and 66.4% experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner. (National Institute of Justice 2016 Study)
- American Indian and Alaska Native women are 1.2 times as likely as white women to have experienced violence in their lifetime and 1.7 times as likely to have experienced violence in the past year. (National Institute of Justice 2016 Study)
- 75 percent of the crimes the FBI investigates in Indian Country fall under the following priority violations: Death investigations; Physical abuse of a child; Sexual abuse of a child; Violent felony assaults; and Rape. (FBI website)
- Native women also face murder rates more than 10 times the national average in some counties (Bachman, Zaykowski, Kallymer, Poteyeva, & Lanier, 2008).
- AI/AN women were almost 2 times as likely to have experienced rape as White women (34.1 percent vs. 17.9 percent) over the course of a lifetime.
We know that a majority of us believe that people have the right to live their day-to-day lives free from fear. That folx have the right to feel safe in their neighborhoods and their homes. However, 4 out of 5 Indigenous Women, girls, and 2 Spirited people are affected by violence today. They also face murder rates more than 10 times the national average in some counties (Bachman, Zaykowski, Kallymer, Poteyeva, & Lanier, 2008).
When Indigenous Communities do better, when their loved ones are safe- we will all be better. Indigenous leaders and communities have told us how we can support their work to raise awareness and find a way to stop Indigenous Women, girls, and 2 Spirited people from going missing and being murdered. We can uplift their message, we can stand in solidarity, we can donate our time and money to Indigenous-led resources. We can educate ourselves and others.
Here at Progress North, we stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities. Communities who are disproportionately impacted by violence and systemic racism. On May 5th there will be many opportunities for folx to support and raise awareness virtually and in-person, but we encourage people to continue to raise awareness and demand accountability for this ongoing crisis going forward.
