photo courtesy of Oscar Aguirre/Demotix/Corbis

By Lizbeth Arellano Garcia

Historically, the brutalization and violence against Indigenous people has been swept under the rug, and we have been told and led to think that it is no longer an issue.  We can see this in many places, such as in the federal “funding” that says it’s doing enough to help Natives of the disadvantages they have been handed by being exploited. Like many injustices Indigenous people face, the kidnapping of Indigenous women is nothing new.

Yet it seems that the rate at which they’re being taken has risen in recent years. At least, that’s what we know from the little information revealed in 2016, when the National Crime Information Center discovered that out of 5,712 actual cases of native women going missing, only 116 had been reported. 

Of course, the argument can be made that since that information is from 4 years ago it can’t be sufficient evidence to say that this is an epidemic. However, if that were truly the case, why are families still coming forward asking for public support to raise awareness about the missing mothers, daughters, and members of their community? Additionally, articles as recent as 2021 are still advocating for the Native women who undergo violence such as murder, trafficking, kidnapping, stalking, and more. 

There is a clear gap and muddiness in the cases of these missing women. According to a report by the Department of Justice in 2017, only 37% of cases related to violence against Indigenous women actually proceeded and 70% of those cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence. 

According to a study done in 2000, a majority of Native people that identify as female now live in a city, and the “UIHI identified 506 unique cases of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls across ... 71 selected cities—128 (25%) were missing person cases, 280 (56%) were murder cases, and 98 (19%) had an unknown status.” 

So what does this boil down to? Well, it really comes down to gaps of information that are a result of the government not doing enough. It’s not doing enough to protect Indigenous women from being attacked, and it’s not doing enough to investigate the missing cases that are being reported. 

There needs to be more information on the cases and on the rates at which these women are going missing so we can come up with ways to protect these women. There can’t be any gaps in information. Gaps in information lead to people going unnoticed and lives being lost.

If we want to better our country, stop this epidemic, and help each other, there needs to be better transparency. We need to keep advocating for change and advocating for cases to be reopened so that these families can receive the justice they deserve.  🐾