Hi everyone, I hope you’re doing well.
Trigger Warning / Content Warning – violence against women, for the header and the links included.
Yesterday was the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). The rates of murders and disappearances of Native American women and girls are much higher than the national average, and the movement to fight this issue has been growing over the last few years.
The continuing reports of abductions and murders of Native women and girls represent one of the most horrific aspects of the spectrum of violence committed against Native women. The murder rate of Native women is more than ten times the national average on some reservations. Often, these disappearances or murders are connected to crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking.
In 2017, the Montana Congressional Delegation led the way for passage of a Senate resolution declaring May 5 as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. May 5th was the birthday of Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe who went missing on July 4, 2013. Each year since 2017, the national movement to end violence against Native women has organized activities in support of the May 5th National Day of Awareness.
This National Day of Awareness also highlights the need for ongoing grassroots advocacy and changes to the laws, policies, and increased allocation of resources to end these injustices. Individual and/or joint actions at the local, tribal, state, national, and international levels are needed this year. The issues surrounding missing and murdered Native women must be brought into the public’s awareness to increase the accountability of the justice systems.
Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls – National Day of Action (National Indigenous Women’s Resource Council)
During the COVID-19 crisis, we have both been contacted by indigenous women suffering from “the shadow pandemic.” Women enduring mental and physical abuse while under lockdown. A relative of a victim whose death is being passed off as suicide. Too many of you will be hearing the same appeals. Too many of you maybe enduring the same. For this reason, we initiated memes for social media headed, “What if she has to shelter in place with her abuser?” and “Traffickers don’t do social distancing” which we hope will be shared. We have not forgotten.
When we speak of the MMIWG tragedy, we do so in the context of being parents. We all try to make our children aware, but as careful as we believe they are, there are moments when we look at our daughters – and now our sons – I wonder they will be next.
“Somebody’s Daughter” Defines “Why We Wear Red”
Please help spread the word if you can.
Welcome to Wednesday! Let’s make this day a good one. Please be respectful and considerate, let’s try to assume good faith and good intentions even in people we disagree with, and don’t forget to take a break once in a while. Don’t threaten Mayor McSquirrel. If you have a problem, you can flag the comment, or feel free to contact the mods at avocadomods@gmail.com.