Missing Native American Women

[Lorenathered]

I have not had a chance to go read this whole thread. I didn't realize it was here until the update today bumped it up in the new posts list for me. But as an indigenous woman, I just wanted to say thank you to the caring soul who started the thread and to all you caring souls who have contributed to it and kept it going.

 

[Sissyana10]

Throughout American history, Indigenous women have been in danger from men. The concept of "manifest destiny" decreed that American — usually white — men were destined to expand throughout the rest of the country and tame it. The history of relations between the American government and indigenous tribes that lived on the land before there was a central government is not kind. History paints America as the winner even though such atrocities as the Trail of Tears. However, indigenous women are still exploited today, taken from their communities against their will, and murdered.

The media doesn't take as much notice of this crisis as it should, and differing jurisdictions for reservation land muddle things up (via The Seattle Times and CNN). Police departments are often overly busy, and evidence can be hard to find, according to The Guardian. On the other hand, negative stereotypes also cause people to look less closely than they should — or normally would — if the victim was white (via Native Hope and The Seattle Times).

People continue to get their cues regarding indigenous women from the media, both news programs and fictional entertainment. Most prominent fiction treats Native American women harshly: They are either murdered, raped, or otherwise exoticized on screen, to the subsequent negative treatment of their real-life counterparts (via Women's Media Center). Let's take a look at the reasons for this crisis that many would prefer to turn away from — which is honestly the first problem in and of itself.

The Crisis Of Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women In America Explained - Grunge

Let's take a look at the reasons for the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women that continue to impact their communities across America.

www.grunge.com

Interesting post . I’m dumbfounded how a lot of these go unnoticed . I live on a reservation . I’m not Native American (well maybe a tiny bit) but I’m saddened by the poverty and neglect this part of the country gets .

 

[arielilane]

According to the Justice Department, Native American women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than non-Native women. More than one in three have suffered rape or attempted rape, and more than 80% will experience violence at some point in their lives. For people outside of the Native American community, these might just be horrific statistics. But for the women in my life, this is our horrific reality.

Blackfeet Nation Boxing Club is fighting to save the lives of Native American women

Indigenous women go missing and are murdered at alarming rates. In "Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible," a group of Native American women train in self-defense as a means of survival.

www.espn.com

 

[arielilane]

The Invisible Victims​

In June 2017, sisters Ashley and Kimberly Heavy Runner Loring were full of plans. Ashley hoped to leave her home on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, east of Glacier National Park in Montana, later that summer for Missoula, where she would live with Kimberly while studying environmental science at the University of Montana. But while Kimberly was away for a few months getting to know her fiancé’s family in Morocco, Ashley grew despondent. The then-20-year-old was devastated following a breakup and often texted her sister for advice. “It was like her world was ending,” says Kimberly, now 25. Ashley cried more often and kept to herself. She stopped attending her classes at Blackfeet Community College and befriended a decades-older crowd, which included some who were rumored to sell and use drugs like meth. In early June, she called Kimberly, saying she needed money. Kimberly couldn’t send it from Morocco but promised she would be home in just a few days. But before Kimberly returned to Montana, Ashley vanished.

It's Shocking How Little Is Done When Native Women Disappear

Two years ago, Ashley Heavy Runner Loring vanished without a trace, like thousands of other Native American women who go missing at alarming rates every year. Around the country, a remarkable movement, driven by Native women themselves, is leading the charge to find them.

www.marieclaire.com

 

[dotr]

The Invisible Victims​

In June 2017, sisters Ashley and Kimberly Heavy Runner Loring were full of plans. Ashley hoped to leave her home on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, east of Glacier National Park in Montana, later that summer for Missoula, where she would live with Kimberly while studying environmental science at the University of Montana. But while Kimberly was away for a few months getting to know her fiancé’s family in Morocco, Ashley grew despondent. The then-20-year-old was devastated following a breakup and often texted her sister for advice. “It was like her world was ending,” says Kimberly, now 25. Ashley cried more often and kept to herself. She stopped attending her classes at Blackfeet Community College and befriended a decades-older crowd, which included some who were rumored to sell and use drugs like meth. In early June, she called Kimberly, saying she needed money. Kimberly couldn’t send it from Morocco but promised she would be home in just a few days. But before Kimberly returned to Montana, Ashley vanished.

It's Shocking How Little Is Done When Native Women Disappear

Two years ago, Ashley Heavy Runner Loring vanished without a trace, like thousands of other Native American women who go missing at alarming rates every year. Around the country, a remarkable movement, driven by Native women themselves, is leading the charge to find them.

www.marieclaire.com

MT - MT - Ashley Loring-HeavyRunner, 20, Browning, 5 June 2017

Ashley Loring Heavyrunner Wanted to Help Find Missing Indigenous Women — Then She Disappeared "Editor's note: In this week's issue, PEOPLE featured the cases of six missing Indigenous women, spotlighting a crisis that advocates believe receives far too little attention from law enforcement and...

www.websleuths.com

 

[Cryptic]

Interesting post . I’m dumbfounded how a lot of these go unnoticed.

I dont believe many go un noticed. Rather, they are just not pursued.

In the end, the the pursuit of these cases faces alot of difficult circumstances. One of which is sovereignty.

Indian reservations can be complex areas in regards to both official jurisdiction and unwritten policies. As you know, they are also sovereign mini nations.

Not every tribe manages that sovereignty well. Some reservations may have long established "systems" that prioritize some members at the expense of others. This includes the allocation of police resources. Sovereignty means that such systems are not going to get dismantled any time soon.

My Puerto Rican neighbor has told me that Puerto Rico has not managed its sovereignty well and has a "system" where some are on the inside track, and others are not.

As he related, being on the inside track for anything, including police time, can involve considerations as to family name, who you know, and what you can offer in return. My guess is that there is also alot of missing women from the outside track in Puerto Rico.

 

[arielilane]

Iowa Native communities combat crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women​

Iowa Native communities combat crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Native communities throughout Iowa are pushing for justice for Indigenous women who are missing or murdered. They hope grassroots efforts can help curb the public health crisis.

www.iowapublicradio.org

A small postcard is the last thing that Jess Lopez-Walker’s family received from her aunt.

Paulette ‘Paulie’ Walker of the Winnebago Tribe sent it after moving to California with a boyfriend in 1984. The family never heard from her again. Lopez-Walker said her aunt’s disappearance left a hole in the family — especially for her mother.

 

[pukasonqo2]

Is a global issue:

The killings and disappearances of Indigenous women across Australia is a crisis hidden in plain sight - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

 

[arielilane]

Colorado becomes first state to introduce alert system for missing Indigenous people​

Colorado becomes one of the first states to roll out an alert system for missing Indigenous people.

The alerts went live on Dec. 30 and are part of the same legislation that created a statewide office and liaison for missing or murdered Indigenous relatives.

"All of our relatives have been murdered and not found, buried," said Daisy Bluestar, with the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Relatives Taskforce of Colorado.

She has lost her own family members to the cold case files, but she calls all Indigenous victims her relatives.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crim...tem-for-missing-indigenous-people/ar-AA15RcdA



To receive alert notifications, email cdps_cbi_missing@state.co.us.

 

[JackieBrown]

Please me if this has already been posted. A study out of Boise State in Idaho.

Elevating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Efforts in Idaho

Mel Fillmore is Hunkpapa, Lakota and citizen of The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North...

www.boisestate.edu

 

[dotr]

Please me if this has already been posted. A study out of Boise State in Idaho.

Elevating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Efforts in Idaho

Mel Fillmore is Hunkpapa, Lakota and citizen of The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North...

www.boisestate.edu

Thank you for the link, lots of great info. in this lengthy article!

Elevating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Efforts in Idaho

Mel Fillmore is Hunkpapa, Lakota and citizen of The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North...

www.boisestate.edu

February 22, 2022 by Mel Fillmore, Lane Gillespie
''Yet counting missing persons is complicated. Missing persons cases are dynamic and several factors play into the inclusion of an individual into missing persons databases. Consider the following examples identified during our research:

1. Adults can elect to go “missing.” In interviews, law enforcement stakeholders spoke to the challenge of balancing Fourth Amendment rights (protection against search and seizure) with the need to determine if a crime has occurred or if a missing adult is at heightened risk for negative outcomes for other reasons;
2. Federal law mandates juveniles be entered into a national database, NCIC, within two hours of a report, but there is no standard for entering missing adults into criminal justice
   databases;
3. Individual agency responses to missing persons vary. In Idaho, more than half of policing agencies have a missing persons policy, but policies are not universal;
4. Missing persons data may represent individuals or entries. One individual may go missing on multiple separate occasions representing numerous entries. Understanding both are important;
5. Accurate racial and ethnic identification in official records is a problem. Indigenous people may be misclassified as White or Hispanic. There is also a high proportion of Indigenous people who are multiracial and/or multiethnic, but not all missing persons data systems offer multiple fields for race and/or ethnicity. Additionally, a portion of missing persons entries are marked race “unknown;”
6. Not all missing persons are reported to authorities, and not all reports are added to a missing persons database.

Challenges related to counting missing persons, and Indigenous missing persons in particular, are also factors in responding to missing persons and/or homicide cases.''

 

[arielilane]

Prejudice and the issue of missing Native American women​

Posted at 4:04 PM, Jan 09, 2023 and last updated 4:04 PM, Jan 09, 2023

It is a cold, blustery afternoon in Ethete, Wyoming, and Greg Day shovels snow from the driveway of his cozy two-bedroom home for the fourth time this week. The wind scrapes the ground as the sun sets behind the snow-covered peaks of the Wind River Mountain Range The temperature is 20 degrees and Day wears little more than a flannel overtop his t-shirt.
To some, the attire might seem crazy, but after learning about Day’s decade-long disagreement with law enforcement about the disappearance of his daughter, it is a perfect representation of Day’s resilience.
“We’re Native Americans,” said Day. “We’re used to letdowns; we’re used to disappointment, but we fight.”

In 2012, Day’s daughter, Dawn, was found motionless in a lake on the Wind River Reservation, the seventh-largest Indian Reservation in the nation, as it spans 2.2 million acres and plays home to more than 26,000 people. An aspiring poet, a mother of three, and a shining light to those who knew her, Dawn’s death was classified as unknown by authorities because the autopsy revealed more than one possible cause.

Four years later, authorities found the body of Greg’s son, Jeffrey, in a waterway as well. Both were 28 at the time of their death and both the causes are still listed as unknown.

Prejudice and the issue of missing Native American women

Edited: to include link.

 

[r3d-ros3]

Nearly 30 missing persons reported in South Dakota since New Year’s Day

Since the start of the year, 28 individuals ranging in age from 9 to 45 have been reported missing in South Dakota.

www.dakotanewsnow.com

 

[LovesPeace2]

I'm not sure where to put these there's so many more missing in Winnipeg right now without case numbers

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

I've only read part of the thread but must confess I didn't know about this issue. Now I need to go find something else to read for a while because this is both heartbreaking and frustrating as it seems much more could be done to help stop this happening.

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

I wonder how many of these victims will be linked to the actor Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse?

'Dances With Wolves' actor arrested in sex abuse case

'Dances With Wolves' actor Nathan Chasing Horse was arrested at his Las Vegas home and accused of multiple sex crimes, including sex trafficking and child abuse.

ew.com

Apparently, he's been traveling around the country to PowWows and such, so I think it's possible he has been taking people from one area and moving them to another for unsavory purposes.

 

[Cryptic]

this is both heartbreaking and frustrating as it seems much more could be done to help stop this happening.

Well said. Sadly, however, there are no easy solutions.

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/KRDONC13

https://twitter.com/x/status/1648725378033242113

The Denver Police Department (DPD) is asking the community to call 720-913-2000 or 911 if you or anyone you know has information regarding the whereabouts of Mariya Crespin.

Missing Indigenous Person Alert:16-year-old last seen in Denver, Colorado | KRDO

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) is sending out an alert for a missing indigenous 16-year-old female. Mariya Crespin, was last seen Sunday, March 19, leaving the 300 Block of South Meade Street in Denver, Colorado. She has brown hair, brown eyes, 5’2, and...

krdo.com

Missing Indigenous Person Alert:16-year-old last seen in Denver, Colorado

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) is sending out an alert for a missing indigenous 16-year-old female.

Mariya Crespin, was last seen Sunday, March 19, leaving the 300 Block of South Meade Street in Denver, Colorado.

She has brown hair, brown eyes, 5’2, and weighs around 145 pounds.

She is affiliated with the Dakota Tribe.

The Denver Police Department (DPD) is asking the community to call 720-913-2000 or 911 if you or anyone you know has information regarding the whereabouts of Crespin.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

At about 10:15 a.m. the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued a missing poster for Mariya Crespin. According to the CBI, Crespin was last seen leaving the 300 block of S. Meade St. in Denver on March 19 and hasn’t been seen since.

MISSING: 16-year-old girl last seen in Denver one month ago, statewide alert issued

A statewide alert was issued on Wednesday for a missing 16-year-old girl.

www.kktv.com

 

[PrairieWind]

At about 10:15 a.m. the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued a missing poster for Mariya Crespin. According to the CBI, Crespin was last seen leaving the 300 block of S. Meade St. in Denver on March 19 and hasn’t been seen since.

MISSING: 16-year-old girl last seen in Denver one month ago, statewide alert issued

A statewide alert was issued on Wednesday for a missing 16-year-old girl.

www.kktv.com

While I am seeing the missing persons reports for Mariya Crespin on the Colorado Springs news, I have yet to see any on the actual Denver stations, where she is missing from.