Social Movements & the Law

Big Horn County in Montana only has around 14,000 residents, so how it has become an epicenter of MMIW/ MMIP? With a massive toll of 50 uninvestigated Missing and Murdered Indigenous People in the county, families say they beg for investigations yet never get the truth about their loved ones. The stories are awful and the tragedy of MMIW/MMIP has to be stopped. SAY HER NAME is a short film highlighting the shocking story of Big Horn County, but we all know this is happening in indigenous communities across the entire continent. And if we know, why don't they? Say Her Name was originally intended to flag the release of the new version of Somebody’s Daughter but has now taken on a status of its own. The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana is Executive Producer of both films. Say Her Name will be premiered during Native News Online’s MMIW forum on MMIW Awareness Day, May 5, 2021. Secretary Haaland is scheduled to contribute to the forum. Visit the website at www.somebodysdaughter.com Like us at www.facebook.com/Somebodys-Daughter-MMIW-100789268115326 To request a screening for your tribe, community, organization or film festival contact: request@somebodysdaughter-mmiw.com. "Somebody’s Daughter is both hauntingly beautiful and emotionally devastating and should be recognized as one of the most important documentaries made on not only MMIW, but also on Indian Country in the twenty-first century." Native News Online.

"An intimate view of how inequality and deeply ingrained structural settler colonialism build accumulated violences in the lives of indigenous women and how these women resist"--

"When Lissa Yellow Bird was released from prison in 2009, she found her home, the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, transformed by the Bakken oil boom. In her absence, the landscape had been altered beyond recognition, her tribal government swayed by corporate interests, and her community burdened by a surge in violence and addiction. Three years later, when Lissa learned that a young white oil worker, Kristopher 'KC' Clarke, had disappeared from his reservation worksite, she became particularly concerned. No one knew where Clarke had gone, and no one but his mother was actively looking for him. Unfolding like a gritty mystery, Yellow Bird traces Lissa's steps as she obsessively hunts for clues to Clarke's disappearance. She navigates two worlds -- that of her own tribe, changed by its newfound wealth, and that of the non-Native oil workers, down on their luck, who have come to find work on the heels of the economic recession. Her pursuit becomes an effort at redemption -- an atonement for her own crimes and a reckoning with generations of trauma. Yellow Bird is both an exquisitely written, masterfully reported story about a search for justice and a remarkable portrait of a complex woman who is smart, funny, eloquent, compassionate, and -- when it serves her cause -- manipulative. Ultimately, it is a deep examination of the legacy of systematic violence inflicted on a tribal nation and a tale of extraordinary healing"-- |c Provided by publisher.

"Violence against Indigenous women in Canada is an ongoing crisis, with roots deep in the nation's colonial history. Despite numerous policies and programs developed to address the issue, Indigenous women continue to be targeted for violence at disproportionate rates. What insights can literature contribute where dominant anti-violence initiatives have failed? Centring the voices of contemporary Indigenous women writers, this book argues for the important role that literature and storytelling can play in response to gendered colonial violence. Indigenous communities have been organizing against violence since newcomers first arrived, but the cases of missing and murdered women have only recently garnered broad public attention. Violence Against Indigenous Women joins the conversation by analyzing the socially interventionist work of Indigenous women poets, playwrights, filmmakers, and fiction-writers. Organized as a series of case studies that pair literary interventions with recent sites of activism and policy-critique, the book puts literature in dialogue with anti-violence debate to illuminate new pathways toward action. With the advent of provincial and national inquiries into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, a larger public conversation is now underway. Indigenous women's literature is a critical site of knowledge-making and critique. Violence Against Indigenous Women provides a foundation for reading this literature in the context of Indigenous feminist scholarship and activism and the ongoing intellectual history of Indigenous women's resistance."--Publisher's description.

The majority of scholarly and activist opinion by and about Indigenous women claims that feminism is irrelevant for them. Yet there is also an articulate, theoretically informed and activist constituency that identifies as feminist. This book is by and about Indigenous feminists, whose work demonstrates a powerful and original intellectual and political contribution demonstrating that feminism has much to offer Indignenous women in their struggles against oppression and for equality. Indigenous feminism is international in its scope: the contributors here are from Canada, the USA, Sapmi (Samiland), and Aotearoa/New Zealand. The chapters include theoretical contributions, stories of political activism, and deeply personal accounts of developing political consciousness as Aboriginal feminists.

In Keetsahnak / Our Murdered and Missing Indigenous Sisters, the tension between personal, political, and public action is brought home starkly as the contributors look at the roots of violence and how it diminishes life for all. Together, they create a model for anti-violence work from an Indigenous perspective. They acknowledge the destruction wrought by colonial violence, and also look at controversial topics such as lateral violence, challenges in working with "tradition," and problematic notions involved in "helping." Through stories of resilience, resistance, and activism, the editors give voice to powerful personal testimony and allow for the creation of knowledge.

Injustice in Indian country : jurisdiction, Living at the intersection of multiple identities in the United States can be dangerous. This is especially true for Native women who live on the more than 56 million acres that comprise America's Indian Country - the legal term for American Indian reservations and other land held in trust for Native people. Today, due to a complicated system of criminal jurisdiction, non-Native Americans can commit crimes against American Indians in much of Indian Country with virtual impunity. This has created what some call a modern day «hunting ground» in which Native women are specifically targeted by non-Native men for sexual violence. In this urgent and timely book, author Amy L. Casselman exposes the shameful truth of how the American government has systematically divested Native nations of the basic right to protect the people in their own communities. A problem over 200 years in the making, Casselman highlights race and gender in federal law to challenge the argument that violence against Native women in Indian country is simply collateral damage from a complex but necessary legal structure. Instead, she demonstrates that what's happening in Indian country is part of a violent colonial legacy - one that has always relied on legal and sexual violence to disempower Native communities as a whole.

"An explosive examination of the missing and murdered Indigenous women of Highway 16, and a searing indictment of the society that failed them. For decades, women--overwhelmingly from Indigenous backgrounds--have gone missing or been found murdered along an isolated stretch of highway in northwestern B.C. The highway is called the Highway of Tears by locals, and it has come to symbolize a national crisis. In Highway of Tears, Jessica McDiarmid meticulously explores the effect these tragedies have had on communities in the region, and how systemic racism and indifference towards Indigenous lives have created a culture of "over-policing and under-protection," simultaneously hampering justice while endangering young Indigenous women. Highway of Tears will offer an intimate, first-hand look at the communities along Highway 16 and the families of the victims, as well as examine the historically fraught social and cultural tensions between settler and Indigenous peoples that underlie life in the region. Finally, it will link these cases with others found across Canada--estimated to number over 1,200--contextualizing them within a broader examination of the undervaluing of Indigenous lives in the country and of our ongoing failure to provide justice for the missing and murdered"--

"In October 2004 Amnesty International released a report titled Stolen Sisters: A Human Rights Response to the Discrimination and Violence against Indigenous Women in Canada, in response to the appalling number of Indigenous women who are victims of racialized and sexualized violence. This report noted over 500 missing or murdered Indigenous women. Tragically, since this initial report the numbers have risen. Noting that Indigenous women are eight times more likely to die as a result of violence, the most recent RCMP report documented 1181 missing or murdered Aboriginal women and girls (2013), with more distressing cases being reported every month. After conducting an extensive investigation here in Canada, in March of 2015 the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued their report condemning Canada for the ongoing failure to protect Indigenous women and girls calling it a "grave human rights violation" (UNCEDAW). Over 40 separate reports have outlined the increase in racialized and sexualized violence against Indigenous women, yet the recommendations they contain are ignored. The failure of the federal government to respond to this issue has resulted in widespread pressure from human rights groups, grassroots movements, and community leaders. This collection supports the call for prompt response and action and urges Justin Trudeau to hold his promise to immediately launch a public inquiry. This collection brings together the voices of Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics, frontline workers and activists who weave together academic and personal narratives, spoken word and poetry in the spirit of demanding immediate action. Our intent is to honour our missing sisters and their families, to honour their lives and their stories."--

In this revolutionary text, prominent Native American studies scholar and activist Andrea Smith reveals the connections between different forms of violence--perpetrated by the state and by society at large--and documents their impact on Native women. Beginning with the impact of the abuses inflicted on Native American children at state-sanctioned boarding schools from the 1880s to the 1980s, Smith adroitly expands our conception of violence to include the widespread appropriation of Indian cultural practices by whites and other non-Natives; environmental racism; and population control. Smith deftly connects these and other examples of historical and contemporary colonialism to the high rates of violence against Native American women--the most likely to suffer from poverty-related illness and to survive rape and partner abuse. Smith also outlines radical and innovative strategies for eliminating gendered violence.

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 […]

When Meskee Yanabah Yatsayte started Navajo Nation Missing Persons Updates seven years ago, she’d never heard of the acronym MMIWG, which stands for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and wasn’t widely used at the time.

Resource extraction takes a toll on more than just the economy and the environment.

The Billings Gazette has continued to examine one of the most urgent issues in Montana and our region — missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

While violence against women plagues many communities across the country and around the world, the Native American indigenous groups in North America are particularly hard struck by this devastating problem. Missing and murdered indigenous women

A program in Washington state is intended to trigger an effective search and raise awareness of the problem

Artist Jaime Black says the REDress Project is an expression of her grief for thousands of Native victims

These are the cases authorities say do not involve foul play

U.S. lawmakers are beginning to grapple with the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Canada’s inquiry suggests the road ahead will be steep.

The death of Gabby Petito draws attention to a form of widespread gendered violence in the US that has long been hiding in plain sight

Gabby Petito’s case highlights the power of media attention but for Indigenous communities it also emphasizes the lack of attention given to missing and murdered Native people

The intentional murder of women because they are women is a problem globally.

It leads to violence against, and the trafficking of, Native women