Their hearts are broken. But they continue to live their lives.
They are the families and loved ones of the estimated 4,200 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) in the U.S. reported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
For decades, Native American and Alaska Native communities have struggled with high rates of assault, abduction, and murder of tribal members.
Community advocates describe the crisis as a legacy of generations of government policies of forced removal, land seizures and violence inflicted on Native peoples.
A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) found that more than four in five American Indian (AI) and Alaska (AK) Native women, 84.3%, have experienced violence in their lifetime, including 56.1% who have experienced sexual violence.
Native American and Alaska Native rates of murder, rape, and violent crime are all higher than the national averages. When looking at missing and murdered cases, data shows that Native American and Alaska Native women make up a significant portion of missing and murdered individuals.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) females experienced the second highest rate of homicide in 2020. Additionally, in 2020 homicide was in the top 10 leading causes of death for AI/AN females age 1 to 45.
But the MMIP list isn’t limited to females, nor is the issue confined to the United States.
It is also an issue for our neighbor to the north, Canada, where as many as 4,000 Indigenous women and girls are believed to have been killed or gone missing over the past 30 years.
At the third annual MMIP May 5 in Traverse City, local residents provided insight into their experience with loss.
Local MMIPs include Karen Petoskey, Auggie Floyd, Cecelia Schwanke, Jacob Cabinaw and Monica June (Anderson).
There names appeared on red T-shirts made for the event. Misheka Floyd spoke about his older brother, Auggie, who has been missing since the fall of 2007; and tragic death of his mother, Kathleen Floyd, who was murdered on Feb. 22, 2002 in Peshawbestown. His cousin, Monica June Anderson, was also remembered. She was murdered in Traverse City in November 2013.
Tribal member Jacob Cabinaw was also remembered. He has been missing since April 2010.
Tribal member Cathy Crowley, said it best during the event to honor the countless lives that have been lost and address violence against Indigenous communities.
“When you go home tonight, when you say your prayers, say their names. They deserve our tears. They deserve our broken hearts. They deserve our anger, but most of all, they deserved to be remembered. They deserve to be spoken and accounted for. They deserve our love.”
To submit an anonymous tip or information to the FBI regarding any of those missing, people can call 1-800-2255324.
