Authors: Abigail Echo-Hawk, Annita Lucchesi

Publication Year: 2019

Last Updated: 2019-10-02

Journal: Urban Indian Health Institute

Keywords: racial misclassifcation, missing persons databases, NamUs, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Abstract:

In this study, UIHI sought to demonstrate the ways in which these issues also impact urban MMIWG cases, highlighting the results of a deeply fawed institutional system rooted in colonial relationships that marginalize and disenfranchise people of color and remains complicit in violence targeting American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls.  UIHI identifed 506 unique cases of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls across the 71 selected cities—128 (25%) were missing persons cases, 280 (56%) were murder cases, and 98 (19%) had an unknown status.

• Approximately 75% of the cases UIHI identifed had no tribal afliation listed.
• Sixty-six out of 506 MMIWG cases that UIHI identifed were tied to domestic and sexual violence.
• The youngest victim was a baby less than one year old.
• The oldest victim was an elder who was 83 years old.

The states with the highest number of cases are as follows: New Mexico (78), Washington (71), Arizona (54), Alaska (52), Montana (41), California (40), Nebraska (33), Utah (24), Minnesota (20), and Oklahoma (18).

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Source: Link to Original Article.

Source: http://www.uihi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Missing-and-Murdered-Indigenous-Women-and-Girls-Report.pdf