No More Stolen Sisters

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. This is a longstanding human rights issue. Many jurisdictional barriers, racism, sexism, and other problems mean little or no investigation into these crimes; they are rarely solved. It's not an accident; it is one facet of the continuing genocide. We can fight back; we are not alone. Mitakuye oyasin -- we are all related.




STATISTICS

Indigenous Womxn (girls +) murdered 10x higher than all other ethnicities

Murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous Womxn (Centers for Disease Control)

More than 4 out of 5 Indigenous Womxn (American Indian & Alaskan Native AI/AN) have experienced violence (84.3%) (National Institute of Justice Report)

More than half Indigenous (AI/AN) Womxn experience sexual violence (56.1%)

More than half Indigenous (AI/AN) Womxn have been physically abused by their intimate partners (55.5 percent)

less than half of Indigenous (AI/AN) Womxn have been stalked in their lifetime (48.8 percent).

Indigenous (AI/AN) Womxn are 1.7 times more likely than Anglo-American women to experience violence.

Indigenous (AI/AN) Womxn are 2xs more likely to be raped than Anglo-American white women.

Murder rate of Indigenous (AI/AN) Womxn is 3xs higher than Anglo-American women.


My Writing

I have written about this issue more than once.

Iron Horses thread in Polychrome Heroics
"Whatever You Do to the Animals"
"Reaching Out to Rescue One Another"
"To Prevent Future Tragedies"
"Ways to Make the Pain Go Away"
"Quicker Than You Can Lower Them"
"A Crazy and Drunk Life"
"Repair Just About Anything"

Blackfeet Confederacy thread in Daughters of the Apocalypse (on layaway)
"The Little Shadow Across the Grass"
"Don't Let the Grass Grow"
"On the Path to Friendship"


Learn More

Library Resources

Tribal Resources


How You Can Help

Donate to organizations working to solve this problem. Do you enjoy stories, art, or other cultural material from tribal people? Give back by helping to protect the people who make them.
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
Indian Law Resource Center
National Indian Women Resource Center

Follow Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA on Facebook.

MMIWG2&MMIP Organizing Toolkit

No More Stolen Sisters Campaign (Canada)

Take Action (Indian Law Resource Center)

Watch for the red hand and red dress symbols of the movement. If you see them, offer support and encouragement. Many people will be protesting or posting about this today.

Post about this issue and/or link to posts about it today, to help raise awareness and agitate for action. You may direct people to this post if you wish.

Comments

Re: I'm going to introduce

[dialecticdreamer]

Probably not. However, the loopholes are being closed, one by one.

I think that the way the Strange Family will handle the risk is to make a current assessment, only to immediately realize that the kids need self-defense training, as Genna does, since she was working at a severe disadvantage before her shoulder was repaired.

But the practical risks of violence against Nimkii and Genna are horrifyingly high.

I wonder if they're JUST as high off the reservation, as when Genna is at the county museum?

Re: I'm going to introduce

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Probably not. However, the loopholes are being closed, one by one. <<

Closed on paper and closed in practice are two very different things, as shown by the laws allegedly protecting native children vs. the high rate of abduction into the foster system.

>> I think that the way the Strange Family will handle the risk is to make a current assessment, <<

That's logical.

>> only to immediately realize that the kids need self-defense training, as Genna does, since she was working at a severe disadvantage before her shoulder was repaired. <<

Good idea.

Consider asking their supervillain friends, many of whom excel at self-defense. Another option would be a more permanent tracker, which Kraken has. After the way Genna blew a gasket over the previous incident, it might be kind of embarrassing to request, but that's a great way to foil kidnapping attempts. Hence why Pips has one; he wants to make sure that backup can always find him.

>> But the practical risks of violence against Nimkii and Genna are horrifyingly high. <<

Yyyyyeah. O_O

>>I wonder if they're JUST as high off the reservation, as when Genna is at the county museum?<<

It's probably highest on the reservation, where tangles of jurisdiction make it easier to get away with crimes. Still high risk elsewhere, though, because of both the tribal and soup aspects.

Re: I'm going to introduce

[(Anonymous)]

It would be nice/useful seeing more examples of men/whitefolk trying to help with these sorts of issues (just in general). And teaching boys/white kids awareness and helping skills too.

...hmmm, do the Iron Horses ever do self-defense classes?

Re: I'm going to introduce

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> It would be nice/useful seeing more examples of men/whitefolk trying to help with these sorts of issues (just in general). And teaching boys/white kids awareness and helping skills too. <<

Feel free to ask for those in any relevant prompt call.

>> ...hmmm, do the Iron Horses ever do self-defense classes? <<

They do. They also provide escorts for abuse survivors, as do some other motorcycle gangs.

Re: I'm going to introduce

[dialecticdreamer]

Yeah, that law has been around for half my lifetime and is being violated more often than it's kept, ESPECIALLY in South Dakota.

Re: I'm going to introduce

[ysabetwordsmith]

Let's say there are a lot of reasons why I write Rabid City the way I do. >_<

I may not be able to solve the problem, but I can certainly shame people for it. That's part of a Bard's job.