05-04-22 Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls Awareness Day

This week we recognize Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls Awareness Day, a time when the Indigenous community and their allies wear red and gather to remember, honor, and give voice to women whose stories have not been heard. Congress passed a resolution designating May 5 as this day in honor of Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern cheyenne tribe who was found murdered on the Cheyenne Reservation on May 5, 2013.  Tomorrow, we invite the UAS community to show support for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls by wearing red.

Murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indiginous women, Indigenous women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than other ethnicities, they are twice more likely to be sexually assaulted than other ethnicities, and 96% of assaults agaist Indigenous women are committed by interracial perpertrators. Alaska is the state with the 4th highest number of missing Indigenous women. The violence must end. 

In Juneau, Tlingit & Haida is sponsoring a rally and march, including speakers and dance groups, on Thursday, May 5, at 4:30 p.m. beginning at the Capitol and continuing to Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall;

Watch this webinar from 2022, spotlighting the crisis in Alaska;

Check out this Alaska-specific community toolkit  for addressing the crisis;

The National Indigenous Women's Resource Center has published a special edition of their periodical, Restoration Magazine, dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women that is available to download for free here.

May everyone return home safely.