Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of North America

Current Initiatives

October 4th has been designated "Sisters in Spirit Day". On this day, we honour missing and mudered Indigenous women, and show support for their loved ones.

(Alberta.ca , n.d.)

The Assembly of First Nations has created an action plan to end violence against First Nations women and girls. They host regional engagment sessions, during which they take the input of survivors and the loved ones of the lost to further improve their action plan.

(King, 2021)

Drag the Red is a volunteer-run organization that searches the Red River for missing and murdered Indigenous women. They work to provide families and loved ones with closure.

(Grabish, 2017)

What YOU Can Do

Donate to Drag the Red.

Call the Government of Canada's emotional assistance hotline if you are emotionally affected or distressed by this issue and need immediate support.
1-884-413-6649.

(Government of Canada; Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, 2021)

Ways to honour Sisters in Spirit Day....

Attend or host a vigil.

Light a candle in the window of your dwelling.

(Native Women's Association of Canada, 2021)

Planned/Other Ideas

Listen to survivor stories to better understand the issue.

Ways to support the loved ones of a missing or murdered Indigenous woman.....

Ask them what they need! Everyone's needs will be different. They may need emotional support, help around the house, assistance with the legal system, or assistance raising awarenes. Always be respectful - understandably, this will be a very difficult time. Ensure you are not overstepping any boundaries.

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women
(Link to timeline of murdered indigenous women)

On this website you will find a timeline of when the group "No More Stolen Sisters" was founded. which is a group that brings awareness to missing indigenous woman.

Just as recent as 2014 Loretta Saunders went missing when she was 26 ironically as she was studding the issue of missing ingenuous woman

"acknowledged in a 2014 report that there have been more than 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women between 1980 and 2012."

In 2017 alone around 5,712 indigenous women were reported as missing or murdered, and 2,758 in the first six months of 2018. readers would suspect as time goes on there would be less of this happening, but yet the issue continues to grow.

("The Red Road: The Issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women", 2022)

("Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia", 2022)

In certain years there has been an uproar of different public organizations and people that have been advocating for the Missing and Murdered Indingouse women.

No more stolen sisters

No more Stolen Sisters is
movement that working towards
advating for MMIW.

(amnesty, 2022)

Jordan Marie

Jordan Marie is a fourth generation runner and a Kul Wičasa Lakota Ingenious women. In 2015, she ran the Boston Marathon with a red hand print over her mouth, a symbol that can be recognized for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women. Jordan is an activist and she wanted to bring attention to a cause that was close to her. During the marathon, she was running for the MMIW and praying for them. In total she has ran over 100 miles for the missing and murdered women, girls, and two spirited people.

(Hearst Magazine Media, 2022)

"It felt exhausting that so much work was going into this movement to find answers and solutions and justice, and it still was not getting any sort of attention. No one cared about the deaths and murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and our relatives"

(Hearst Magazine Media, 2022)

The red hand-print that Jordan Maria put on her face has now become a symbol for the MMIW movement and it represents the women who have been silenced throughout the years. It is used to bring awareness to the cause.

(Indian Country Today 2022)

In 2014, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police put out that more than 1000 women and girls were killed or went missing in-between the years of 1980 and 2012.

(Anadolu Agency, 2021)

In December of 2015, the government of Canada began their public national inquiry into the issue

(The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2022 )

In 2019, the American government has started their plan to efforts in addressing MMIW.

Minnesota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana each opened a study or task force that year to look into the issue.

In 2021 Idaho held a summit. Oregon and Nebraska directed the state police to study what was happening, and Wisconsin and Utah both established a task force to investigate.

In 2021 South Dakota and Oklahoma created offices to address MMIW. Kansas passed a law paving the way for police training in the matter, and Washington's state attorney general announced that there was going to be a task force lead by him

(U.S. Department of the Interior, 2022)

(CBC, 2022)

On the safe passage website they
have a log of cases and their earliest
one is in 1929. The only thing known
thing about case is the year, the
province, Saskatchewan, and that is was
a Suspicious Death.

A more famous case that relates to the
MMIW is a women, girl, that was imprisoned
in Jamestown Virginia, by English colonists who
killed her husband, took her baby from her, and
then raped her in captivity. Her name is Matoaka
or as she is commonly known as Pocahontas.

(Yes, 2022)

Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) is a national association that represents the voice of indegenous women and girls in politics and aims to enhance, promote economic, cultural and political well being of Indigenous women of all creeds.

Families of Sisters in Spirit (FSIS) is a volunteer organization that is led by the families of the missing murdered indigenous women and girls and is associated with the Native Womens's association of Canada.

(Kairos, 2017)

The NWAC every year writes a report on the status of the MMWIG issue in Canada the rest of the america's and aims to being awareness to the issues of MMIWG to broader society and the governments at all levels.

(NWAC, 2022)

(NWAC, 2022)

"The National Crime Information Centre reports that
in 2016, there were 5712 reports of Missing American
Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, through
the US department of Justice's federal missing person
database, NamUs, only logged 116 cases"
Native Hope

Native Hope, N.D

The Department of Justice Canada has been
funding initiatives that support the families
of MMIW.

Government of Canada, 2021

As the months are going by, NamUs,
is reporting more and more MMIW
on their archive

NamUs, 2021

There are many local and international MMIWG advocacy groups that aim to bring the issues of MMIWG into the mainstream

Butterflies in spirit, it starts with us, no more silence, no more stolen sisters(Amnesty international), Helen Betty Osbourne Memorial Foundation. These groups are compramises of general advocacy groups, lobby groups, and groups that provide resources for families of MMIWG.

(Walking With Our Sisters, 2016)

(Walking With Our Sisters, 2016)

Interactive Map: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/f545d93082d24547b5100784b709c303/page/Page-1/?views=Case-Data-Map

Map also includes lists of cases, and data on missing and murdered indigenous women since the 1920's

This interactive map shows areas where indigenous women have gone missing, murdered, and suspicious deaths. They also show the case density of the locations where they are apparent. The spots are mostly in the prairies of Canada, where they are mostly targeted, while missing cases are scattered all over the lower half of the country.

NWCA, 2021

NWCA logo