Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the Crisis We Can’t Ignore

Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. On one hand, this is a day to celebrate and honor Indigenous cultures. On the other, it is also a day to recognize their history, the ways in their people have been failed by the systems of North America, and how these destructive patterns continue to hurt Indigenous people today. If we, as members of the system, do not acknowledge these flaws, then chances to support the system’s victims will never be realized. That is why it is imperative that, today, we recognize the current crisis endangering Native American and Alaska Native communities: the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP).   

Because Organization, to support victims of this crisis and those who have been missing or murdered due to matters such as human trafficking, deems it urgent to bring awareness to this crisis. Click here to learn more about BCO’s mission and scroll to the bottom of this page for ways to support Indigenous communities on this year’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day.  

Recognizing the Crisis 

For decades, these communities have struggled with high rates of assault, abduction, rape, and murder of their members. This violence has tended to target women specifically, as a 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) reported that four in five of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime. This includes violence such as human trafficking, and it is a violence that is inadequately addressed. 

A 2017 report by the Government Accountability Office (titled Human Trafficking: Investigations in Indian Country or Involving Native Americans and Actions Needed to Better Report on Victims Served) identified a lack of training in responding to victims, hesitation among victims to come forward, and a lack of resources for victims. Moreover, less than half of violent victimizations against women are reported to the police. (U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs). Native Womens Wilderness also highlights, while the National Crime Information Center has reported 5,712 cases of missing Indigenous women and girls as of 2016, only 116 cases have been reported by the U.S. Department of Justice. This is a clear call to action; a demand for increased research and investigations; and an urgent needed for communication between state, local, federal, and tribal law enforcement to ensure that these women receive the justice they deserve. 

With the proven high rates of women specifically, it is also important to bring attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) crisis. On certain reservations within the United States, Native women face murder rates over ten times higher than the national average. These crimes are often linked to domestic and dating violence; sexual assault and trafficking; and stalking (National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center). While these methods of violence ae carried out by individuals, it is the policies and laws, and their colonial background, that creates and enables settings where these individuals can commit these horrors with little or no prosecution. Moreover, the U.S.’s federal Indian policies undermine tribal protections, refusing to let Indian Nations protect their own people, especially women.  

Since 2006, Tribal leaders have consistently reminded audiences that, to properly and justly address violence against Natives and Native women, “full Tribal sovereignty must be restored with adequate resources to implement such authority to fully protect women...The United States has the authority and the resources to end the crisis of violence against Native women but has not demonstrated the will” (National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center). 

Honoring Indigenous Leadership and Community Solutions 

As demonstrated above, the crises of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) remains two of the most urgent human rights issues in the United States. They stem from colonization, jurisdictional gaps, and systemic violence that have left Indigenous communities disproportionately vulnerable to disappearance and harm. While this reality is devastating, Indigenous leaders and organizations are driving some of the most powerful responses. Their work makes clear that solutions already exist and that they are strongest when they are rooted in Indigenous voices, traditions, and sovereignty. 

Across the country, women, families, and grassroots organizers are bringing both visibility and justice to this crisis: 

• Carolyn DeFord (Puyallup Tribe, Washington State) has dedicated decades to raising awareness through Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA after the disappearance of her mother, supporting families as they navigate systems that often fail them.  

• Jodi Voice Yellowfish (Oglala Lakota, Muscogee Creek, Cherokee) co-founded MMIW-Texas, building a network that provides education, advocacy, and healing for families across the state.  

• Geneva Hadley (Comanche Nation, Oklahoma) founded the MMIW of Oklahoma Southwest Chapter, organizing vigils and local outreach to ensure missing women are remembered and their families supported.  

• Annie Belcourt (Blackfeet Nation, Montana) works as a researcher and public health advocate, addressing how historical trauma and structural inequities connect to the MMIP crisis and creating space for Indigenous-centered solutions.  

• The Remembering Our Sisters Fellows, a cohort of young Indigenous women and femmes, use art, storytelling, and organizing to carry the movement forward across generations, showing how leadership and healing practices evolve yet remain deeply connected to tradition.  

• Grassroots movements at the local, regional, national, and international levels, which honor the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives. May 5 has been recognized as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives, honoring Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old woman from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe who went missing and was later found murdered in 2013. 

What unites these efforts is a commitment to centering survivors and families, whose experiences not only expose the failings of current systems but also guide the creation of solutions that are both just and culturally grounded. These leaders show that cultural traditions such as ceremony, storytelling, and kinship are not simply symbolic acts of resilience; they are essential practices of care and protection that sustain communities and nurture healing.  

Equally vital is the recognition of sovereignty. When tribes have both the resources and the authority to address violence and trafficking within their own communities, they can act more swiftly and effectively than outside systems that too often overlook Indigenous cases. Strengthening tribal jurisdiction is not only about legal reform; it is about restoring dignity and trust to communities that have long been denied justice.  

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, honoring these leaders and their communities is a way to affirm that Indigenous voices are already building the solutions we need. Their work reminds us that justice must be defined by those most affected and that our role, as allies and readers, is to listen, support, and stand in solidarity with Indigenous-led movements for safety, healing, and self-determination.  

How You Can Take Action On This Indigenous Peoples’ Day 

The list below includes ways you can take action to support Indigenous communities—not just today, but every day of the year.  

• Support Indigenous-led organizations and sign up for newsletters to stay informed  

• National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center 

• Native Womens Wilderness 

• Advocate for policy changes that strengthen tribal jurisdiction and fund Indigenous anti-trafficking programs  

• Show solidarity by attending MMIW awareness events or amplifying Indigenous voices on social media 

  
  

*Special Thanks to Agazeet Hail for for aiding in research in content for this piece.

References 

Agtuca, J., Carr, E., Hill, B., Julian, P., & Quilt, R. (n.d.). MMIW: Understanding the missing and murdered indigenous women crisis beyond individual acts of violence | niwrc. National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.niwrc.org/restoration-magazine/june-2020/mmiw-understanding-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-crisis 

Indian Affairs. (n.d.). Missing and murdered indigenous people crisis. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved October 9, 2025, from https://www.bia.gov/service/mmu/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-people-crisis 

National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. (n.d.). Missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives (MMIWR). https://www.niwrc.org/mmiwr-awareness 

Native Womens Wilderness. (n.d.). Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women. Retrieved October 9, 2025, from https://www.nativewomenswilderness.org/mmiw