Research & Academic Scholarship

This note examines the prevalence of sex trafficking of Native women and children, and the correlation those rates have with large extraction projects, such as the Bakken Oil Fields in North Dakota, and the camps (“man camps”) that employees live in. In order to fully flesh out the phenomenon accurately, this note walks through pertinent history and the Truth of the Native experience of colonization and genocide in the United States. Further, this note also examines the current laws and policies in the United States that perpetuate and exacerbate the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls phenomenon. Finally, it compares those laws and policies to international human rights standards, speaks to how the United States consistently falls short of international human rights standards, and how the issue can be remedied.

Disproportionate violence against Indigenous persons in Canada includes uncounted disappearances of Indigenous children, women, and men. Canada’s decades of failure to prevent and halt disappearances forms part of a long litany of grave international human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples. Continued reports of officially hushed-up violence lead to increasingly clarion allegations of genocide. An unknown […]

A collective voice for the victims who have been silenced

WHAT IS THE MMIW MOVEMENT? The MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) movement is an activist effort in response to the pervasive issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women across North America (Turtle Island). This movement brings awareness to an issue which did not previously receive mainstream attention. MMIW activism is made up of art, protest, pushing for legislation, and building accurate databases and stronger communities. This movement is taking place across Canada, the continental US, and Alaska. In this exhibit we will be primarily focusing on the US.

For Indigenous communities in North America, the links between land and body create a powerful intersection—one that, when overlooked or discounted, can threaten their very existence. Extractive industries have drilled, mined, and fracked on lands on or near resource-rich Indigenous territories for decades.

A toolkit by Native Youth Sexual Health Network and Women’s Earth Alliance

This report was prepared by RTI International using federal funding provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

A report to the Minnesota Legislature

A Year 1 Project Report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People of Northern California

I performed an e-ceremony to honour #MMIWG. Pay your tribute here.

In Canada, Indigenous women have a 12 times greater risk of becoming missing or murdered than any other race. See for yourself: compare the risks of being missing and murdered in Canada by ethnic group and province. #mmiw #mmiwg #takentheseries

The National Inquiry’s Final Report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The two volume report calls for transformative legal and social changes to resolve the crisis that has devastated Indigenous communities across the country.

Reports Amnesty International's 2004 Stolen Sisters report was one of the first reports to systematically document the pattern of violence experienced by

In this article, on the basis of interviews with seven Navajo women, the author discusses the Navajo woman’s perspective on domestic violence. These discussions reveal several factors that distinguish the Navajo woman’s experience of abuse from that of the Anglo3 woman. These factors are examined in light of historical and contemporary understandings of the Navajo world. Three cultural elements can help us understand the Navajo woman’s experience of abuse: the cultural concept of hózhó, the searing tale (in the Creation Story) of the quarrel between First Man and First Woman, a quarrel that brought great tragedy to the people; and the Kinaáldá, the female puberty rite. It is the author’s argument that these facets of the Navajo culture, in addition to Western explanations for women’s staying with abusive partners, are powerful contributors to the Navajo woman’s understanding of abuse in her life and if we are to develop successful techniques for intervention, we must consider these elements as well as those of the dominant culture.

Nationwide, the voices of Indigenous people have united to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girls (MMIWG). Though awareness of the crisis is growing, data on the realities of this violence is scarce.

This report focuses on sexual violence against indigenous women in the USA. Governments have a responsibility to ensure that women are able to enjoy their right to freedom from sexual violence. As citizens of particular tribal nations, the welfare and safety of American Indian and Alaska Native women are directly linked to the authority and […]