Content Warning: These resources contain accounts of domestic and sexual violence which could be traumatic and potentially triggering to some readers.
*LGBTQIA+ & Two-Spirit specific resources listed with asterisk
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is a recent movement to bring recognition to the disappearance and murders of Native women and girls; many in the movement also include two spirit and trans persons under the term. While the movement is new, the issue of MMIW is not. Throughout Canada and the United States, a disproportionate number of Native women go missing and/or are murdered. The exact number of missing and murdered Native people is challenging to pinpoint, as many go unreported and the media fails to give the issue the attention it deserves.
According to reports in 2018, about 84.3 percent of Native women experience violence and 56 percent experience sexual violence. This violence is primarily committed by non-Native men, a crisis perpetuated by a multitude of factors, as discussed in the resources below. This guide offers reports, articles, websites, documentaries, news stories, toolkits, recordings of legal proceedings, and scholarly journals to help guide education around the topic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, children, and relatives.
We hope this compilation of resources can be a starting point to understand the crisis of MMIW fully, provide families healing, and help others implement justice and take action so that there will be no more stolen sisters.
Indigenous-Centric Hotlines for Natives Experiencing Violence
StrongHearts Native Helpline: 1-844-762-8483
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center: 1-855-649-7299
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women: 1-505-243-9199
More general hotlines are listed at the bottom of this article.
Resources for Anyone Experiencing Violence
Identifying Types of Intimate Partner Violence by The Tulalip Tribe: Legacy of Healing Advocacy Center & Safe House
Understanding Consent by Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
Focus Areas for Navigating Help by Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
Creating a Safety Plan by StrongHearts Native Helpline
Help a Friend or Family Member by StrongHearts Native Helpline
Local & National Supportive Organizations to Explore by StrongHearts Native Helpline
Access to Tribal Coalitions by National Indigenous Resource Center
Resources for Community Response and Healing
Tribal Community Response When an Indigenous Woman Is Missing: A Toolkit for Action by the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center - This toolkit provides a series of steps for what to do if a loved one goes missing.
List of Native American coalitions by National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
How I use the teachings of the Medicine Wheel in my healing journey by Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith
Understanding Trauma and Mental Health in the Context of Domestic Violence Advocacy by the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center - A webinar on trauma care and response.
*Mending the Rainbow: Working with the Native LGBT/Two-Spirit Community Webinar by Elton Naswood - This webinar addresses LGBT/2S survivors and aims to “provide understandings of gender/sexual identities and resources and recommendations to better provide victim services to the Native LGBT/2S community.”
Live Another Day - Extensive information on mental health and substance use resources for Native and Indigenous People. Live Another Day's mission is "equal access to life-saving resources."
Mending the Sacred Hoop Resources - Visit the “resources” tab on their homepage for manuals and brochures that provide an in-depth look at violence against Indigenous women. Manuels include a sexual assault advocacy guide, a workbook for tribal men, and a community response plan, among other resources.
*Support & Celebrate Two-Spirit/ LGBTQ People by the Native Alliance Against Violence
*Red Ribbon Skirt Society's Healing Center for MMIW by Madonna Thunder Hawk on the Lakota People’s Law Project blog
The Red Ribbon Skirt Society's healing center in Rapid City is a space dedicated to remembering & honoring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, children, two-spirit & transgender people.
Reports & Government Proceedings
Colonization, Homelessness, and the Prostitution and Sex Trafficking of Native Women by Christine Stark and Eileen Hudon (2020)
*Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2019)
Hearing: Unmasking the Hidden Crisis of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW): Exploring Solutions to End the Cycle of Violence by Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the United States (2019)
Research Policy Update: Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women by National Congress of American Indians Policy Research Center (2018)
Indigenous Women and Their Human Rights in the Americas by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (2017)
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Report PDF by the Urban Indian Health Institute, a division of the Seattle Indian Health Board (2016)
Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men by André B. Rosay via the National Institute of Justice (2016)
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (2014)
Scholarly Journals & Dissertations (Access Full Text)
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW): Bringing Awareness through the Power of Student Activism by Devon S. Isaacs & Amanda R. Young (2019)
*Impacts of colonization on Indigenous Two-Spirit/ LGBTQ Canadians’ experiences of migration, mobility and relationship violence Janice Ristock, Art Zoccole, Lisa Passante, & Jonathon Potskin (2019)
Understanding the Ways Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women are Framed and Handled by Social Media Users by Taima Moeke-Pickering, Sheila Cote-Meek, Ann Pegoraro (2018)
*Canada: Discrimination and Violence against Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Women and Gender Diverse and Two Spirit People on the Basis of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression by Alex Bucik, MA Research and Policy Analyst, Egale Canada Human Rights Trust (2016)
Stitching through Silence: Walking With Our Sisters, Honoring the Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women in Canada by Stephanie G. Anderson (2016)
Missing and Murdered Vulnerable Women in and the Canadian Justice System By Maryanne Pearce (2013)
Why Are Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Cases Being Ignored? | HuffPost's Between the Lines: Annita Lucchesi’s and Abigail Echo-Hawk’s Data Collection: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls.
Videos
Why Are Indigenous Women Missing in Canada? By SBS Dateline
W.A.R.N Ride by the Warrior Women Project
Webinar: Decolonizing Data by the Urban Indian Health Institute
The Search: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women by Al Jazeera's Fault Lines
Ashley Loring Heavy Runner: Indigenous Student’s Disappearance, Just one in Epidemic of Missing Native Women by ABC News Nightline
Searchers: Highway of Tears by Vice
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women by Native Hope
Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women by CBC News: The National
Running for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: TEDx Talk by Rosalie Fish
How Do We Stop Aboriginal Women from Disappearing? TEDx Talk by Beverly Jacobs
Aboriginal Women: Resilience, Resistance, and Revitalization: TEDx Talk by Patti Boyle Bedwell
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Lecture at Central Washington University by Emily Washines, State Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale; Lottie A. Sam, and Robert Udell
Social Media
Follow for updates on missing Native relatives.
Facebook:
Missing and Murdered Native Americans
Murdered and Disappeared Native Women
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Washington
MissingFlowers: Missing Murdered Indigenous Women & Men
Navajo Nation Missing Persons Updates
Instagram:
Twitter:
@NNMPU1 - Navajo Nation Missing Persons Updates
@NIWRC - National Indigenous Women's Resource Center
National Hotlines
Domestic Violence, Child Abuse & Assault
The National Domestic Violence Hotline:1-800-799-7233
National Dating Abuse Helpline: 1-866-331-9474
National Child Abuse Hotline/Childhelp: 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453
National Sexual Assault Hotline:1-800-656-4673
WAVAW Crisis Center (Canada): 604-255-6344
Suicide Prevention, Depression and Crisis Hotlines
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 & Esta es la línea directa en Español para la prevención del suicidio. 1-888-628-9454
National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health 1-312-726-7020 ext. 2011
*LGBTQIA+, Two-Spirit, and GenderNon-Conforming Specific Hotlines
*Trans Lifeline: US: 1-877-565-8860/Canada: 1-877-330-6366
*Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian, and Gay Survivors of Abuse: 1-206-568-7777
*The Audre Lorde Project: 1-178-596-0342
*The Trevor Project (LGBTQ YOUTH crisis line) 1-866-488-7386
Youth Specific Hotlines
*The Trevor Project (LGBTQ youth crisis line): 1-866-488-7386
The National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline: 1-866-331-9474, or text “loveis” to 77054
The National Runaway Hotline: 1-800-786-2929