Jan 4, 2018 - Native Women to Highlight Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women at this Years Women’s March

Last year, women across the nation gathered in resistance to the inauguration of the 45th president.

Here in Seattle, Indigenous Women were given the honor and solidarity to lead the march.  This year, Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women Washington (M.M.I.W.W) will be leading Seattle’s Women’s March followed by all Indigenous Sisters & families.

Indigenous women lead Seattle’s march.

This year, we seek to bring greater awareness to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and the colonial gender based violence happening here on Turtle Island.

Our mission is to raise consciousness, unite and demand action for Indigenous women, girls, Two Spirit and LGBTQQIA people who have been murdered or gone missing, tortured, raped, trafficked, and assaulted, who have not had the proper attention or justice. All too often, we see the tragedies in our communities happening at horrendous rates.

Many factors contribute to the disproportionate number of Indigenous women who are missing and murdered throughout the Americas.

Here in the United States, Indigenous women have faced devastating levels of violence.  According to the US Department of Justice, “Nearly half of all Native American women have been raped, beaten, or stalked by an intimate partner; one in three will be raped in their lifetime; and on some reservations, women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than the national average.”

The number of victims likely is much higher due to many factors that complicate the reporting and recording of these numbers, including fear, stigma, legal barriers, racism, sexism, among others.

Additionally, there is the on-going perpetuation of Native women as sexual objects in the mainstream media.

We are also seeing the rise in M.M.I.W. due to the immense rush for fracking & fossil fuel extraction. Along with these pipelines, Indigenous communities are at threat with these “Man Camps” being established miles away from Reservations.

A majority of these men are isolated for long periods, and they have no ties to the area or it’s communities.  These men often work 12 hour days and are paid excessive amounts of money, these “Man Camps” become center’s for drugs, violence, and the human trafficking of Indigenous women and girls.

This year we take to the streets for our MMIW Mothers, Sisters, Grandmothers, Aunties, Cousins and loved ones in their memory and honor.

We want to thank the Women’s March Org for honoring and supporting Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Washington.

For more information on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Washington March in Seattle go here

For more information on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Washington March in Olympia, WA go here

By Roxanne White