#MMIW Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

In their own words: Rosalie Fish

By Lauren Gallup December 1, 2022

Rosalie Fish, running with a painted red handprint across her face and the letters "MMIW" along her leg to raise awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. Photo courtesy of Fish.

For over 30 years, Native American Heritage Month has been federally recognized. Northwest Public Broadcasting reporters are interviewing Indigenous people throughout the region to learn what they think about the month and what they want people to understand about their culture and who they are. Reporter Lauren Gallup spoke with Rosalie Fish, a University of Washington Read More

Estudiante de secundaria de Yakima gana concurso de arte del Congreso

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour May 23, 2022

Imagen de la obra “Silenced”, de Morgan Greene, que estará expuesta en el Capitolio. Read Una estudiante de último año de la escuela secundaria A.C. Davis de Yakima ganó el… Continue Reading Estudiante de secundaria de Yakima gana Read More

Yakima High School Student Wins Congressional Art Competition

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour May 20, 2022

Silenced by Morgan Greene Listen (Runtime :46) Read A Yakima A.C. Davis High School senior has won a Congressional Art Competition with her depiction of a woman and the symbol… Continue Reading Yakima High School Student Wins Congressional Read More

Families Gathered For Healing And Justice For MMIWP

By Johanna Bejarano May 11, 2022

Mujeres Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Awareness Day

Families Gathered For Healing And Justice For MMIWP Continue Reading Families Gathered For Healing And Justice For MMIWPRead More

Familias se reunieron para sanar y pedir justicia para MMIWP

By Johanna Bejarano May 11, 2022

Familias se reunieron para sanar y pedir justicia para MMIWP Continue Reading Familias se reunieron para sanar y pedir justicia para MMIWPRead More

Families Honor Their Loved Ones During MMWIP Awareness Day

By Johanna Bejarano May 6, 2022

MMIW/P’s families gathered at Toppenish to honor loved ones. Photo: Johanna Bejarano. Read Family members joined in Toppenish to honor their relatives on the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness… Continue Reading Families Read More

Qué significa la ley “Bring Them Home” para MMIP

By Johanna Bejarano April 25, 2022

La ley "Tráelos a casa" ("Bring them home" en inglés) de Washington entra en vigor en junio. Permite a los miembros de las tribus realizar sus prácticas espitiruales y ceremonias sobre un indígena fallecido sin comprometer la escena antes de que se realice la autopsia, y apoya a los supervivientes del tráfico de personas. Read More

Nationwide Alert System Created for Missing Indigenous Persons

By Johanna Bejarano April 5, 2022

Protestors with arms raised bringing attention to plight of missing indigenous women.

Governor Inslee signed Bill 1725 which creates an endangered missing person advisory. Continue Reading Nationwide Alert System Created for Missing Indigenous PersonsRead More

Savanna’s Act, Passed By House, Addresses Alarming Number Of Missing Or Murdered Native Women

By NPR News October 1, 2020

A memorial to Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind outside the apartment where Greywind lived with her parents in Fargo, N.D., pictured in 2017. Savanna's Act requires the Department of Justice to strengthen training, coordination and data collection in cases of murdered or missing Native Americans. Dave Kolpack/AP

Sarah Deer, citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and University of Kansas professor, discusses the measures to strengthen investigation procedures and why it's taken so long to address the issue. Continue Reading Read More

‘Genocide’ Has Been Committed Against Indigenous Women And Girls, Canadian Panel Says

By NPR News June 4, 2019

Women attend the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on Monday in Gatineau, Quebec. Chris Wattie/Reuters

A years-long government inquiry says human rights abuses "perpetrated historically and maintained today by the Canadian state" has led to violence against Indigenous women and girls that amounts to genocide. Continue Reading Read More

New Washington Law Seeks To Further Address Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women

By Paige Browning April 25, 2019

The governor's conference room was full Wednesday, April 24, 2019 as tribal members from throughout Washington watched Gov. Jay Inslee sign Rep. Gina Mosbrucker's House Bill 1713 into law. Courtesy of Washington House Republicans media office

In what's being called a significant step for tribal communities, Washington state has a new law seeking to address the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. House Bill 1713 requires the State Patrol to write best practices for how to investigate those crimes. The new law also creates two state patrol positions to work on cases of missing Native people. Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Puyallap Tribe Member Remembers Mother’s Disappearance 20 Years Later

By NPR News March 29, 2019

Carolyn DeFord poses with her mother and daughter in La Grande, Oregon in their last photograph together before Leona disappeared in 1999. Courtesy of Carolyn DeFord

It's been 20 years since Carolyn DeFord, a member of the Puyallup tribe, last saw her mother, Leona Kinsey in La Grande, Ore. DeFord was raised by Kinsey in La Grande. She remembers her mother as independent and self-sufficient, working odd jobs to scrape by. Read More

‘No Family Deserves To Have To Go Through This’: Missing And Murdered On The Yakama Nation

By Esmy Jimenez March 22, 2019

File photo. The reservation of the Yakama Nation in south-central Washington covers over 2,000 square miles, with areas patrolled by tribal, city and county law enforcement.

On Dec. 26, 2017, Myrna Cloud’s 23-year-old cousin went missing on the Yakama Nation reservation in Central Washington. D. Lloyd’s body was found in a rural part of the reservation four days later. The murder is still under investigation. Read More

Washington Lawmaker Unveils New Bill To Address Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women

By Emily Schwing January 25, 2019

After a 2018 bill signing ceremony in Olympia, women from several local tribes performed a song in honor of the missing and murdered Indigenous women in the U.S. and Canada. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS / NW NEWS NETWORK

Murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls are the focus of a bill introduced in the Washington House of Representatives on Friday. Continue Reading Washington Lawmaker Unveils New Bill To Address Missing And Murdered Read More

‘We Need Action.’ Yakama Nation Leads Discussion On Violence Against Women

By Esmy Jimenez January 17, 2019

Charlene Tillequots is a member of the Yakama Nation’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Special Committee. Tillequots spoke at the meeting Jan. 14 meeting in Toppenish, saying, “We don’t need another study. We need action to address a human rights issue.” CREDIT: Esmy Jimenez/NWPB

On Jan. 14, the Yakama Nation held an all-day community meeting in Toppenish, Washington, to discuss violence that affects Native American women and girls. Over 200 people attended the community meeting, including Yakama tribal members, the Washington State Patrol, local police departments, and the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs. Read More

Report Finds Seattle Has Most Missing And Murdered Native Women

By Amy Radil November 16, 2018

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Washington group members start the Women's March on Saturday, January 20, 2018, on Pine St., in Seattle. CREDIT: MEGAN FARMER/KUOW

More than 500 Native American women have disappeared or been murdered in U.S. cities, many since the year 2000, according to a new report from Seattle’s Urban Indian Health Institute. Continue Reading Report Finds Seattle Has Most Missing And Read More

Native Women Turn Up The Volume In Violence And Sexual Assault Conversations

By Emily Schwing November 1, 2018

More than a hundred people gathered in Anchorage for a rally to bring attention to violence against native women in October.

Since last January’s Women’s March in Seattle, hundreds of Indigenous women have gathered in the Northwest to raise awareness of those who go missing, are abused or murdered. Now, demonstrations like this are also happening in Alaska’s largest city. Read More

Despite Past Reforms, Native Women Face High Rates Of Crime

By NWPB News September 12, 2018

A woman performs a traditional Native American dance during the North American Indian Days celebration on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Mont., Friday, July 13, 2018. North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says Native American women are often subject to high rates of violence. "It becomes a population that you can prey on because no one does anything about it, because there's no deterrence, because there's no enforcement and no prosecution," said Heitkamp, who has introduced a bill aimed at addressing this issue. CREDIT: DAVID GOLDMAN/AP

For generations, Native American women have been victimized at astonishing rates, with federal figures showing that more than half have encountered sexual and domestic violence at some point during their lives — even amid a wave of efforts aimed at reducing such crimes. Read More