The documentary opens with a powerful statement: “I am a full-blooded Native American woman. Being that, I am the most stalked, raped, murdered, sexually assaulted and abused of any woman of any ethnic group.”
Within the first few minutes, the documentary confronts viewers with harrowing MMIW statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice:
- Indigenous women are 2.5 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault.
- 1 in 3 Native American women will be raped in their lifetimes.
- 67% of rapes suffered by Native women are committed by non-Natives.
- 80% of sex crimes on reservations are committed by non-Natives.
Unfortunately, for many Montanans, these statistics are not surprising.
On New Year’s Day, Selina Shelley Faye Not Afraid, a 16-year-old Indigenous woman, disappeared from a rest stop near Billings. At the time Not Afraid went missing, there were 152 reported missing people in Montana, 46 of whom, or 30%, were identified as Indigenous, according to Misty LaPlant, a missing persons specialist with the Montana Department of Justice.
“But, Indigenous women are not statistics,” the documentary’s narrator says. “This is mom, auntie, sister, niece, daughter, cousin, and sometimes grandma. And there are many victims whose names we do not know.”
Because MMIW victims cannot speak for themselves, in a series of emotional interviews, victims’ loved ones share stories of their lost family members and their resulting frustration, trauma and grief.
Please visit
globalindigenouscouncil.com for additional information on how to watch "Somebody's Daughter."
New Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women documentary premieres today
Prayers for Salena, her family and community. Please let her be found safe and soon.
