Indigenous Rights & Tribal Sovereignty

The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica are investigating sexual violence in Alaska, and why the situation isn’t getting better.

Who is killing the indigenous women of Alaska? Spoiler alert, it is not that hard to figure out if proper investigations had been done, yet time and time again, these victims’ deaths are ignored, suspects are not questioned, evidence is not collected, autopsy reports are glossed over, known repeat offenders are not prosecuted, and on the rare occasions when they are prosecuted, judges are letting them go with less than a slap on the wrist. Joining us to discuss two such cases is victims’ advocate Antonia Unaqsiq Commack of Missing and Murdered In Alaska, a group that often focuses on violence against Alaska Natives. Antonia is Inupiaq from the Native Village of Shungnak. Antonia herself has had two close friends murdered by their intimate partners and since 2017 has devoted herself to shouting loudly to make the public aware of the injustices going on in her community. Antonia takes us through the deaths of two women in Kotzebue, Alaska - Jennifer Kirk and Sue Sue Norton -- who died under extremely suspicious circumstances and who need to get much more attention from those in power to deliver justice. Their stories are just the tip of the iceberg. Please go to the Lawless website to find out more. https://www.propublica.org/series/lawless