Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women /people (MMIW) problem is not new, but those who are missing cannot be forgotten, this series of figures is a small tribute to them. My figures wear long red dresses and have a red handprint on their featureless faces; these are the symbols the MMIW movement uses to visually evoke the tragedy of our missing kin. Their faces are featureless, representing the vast number of people who are never found. I have each figure holding an eagle feather fan to show the inherent sacredness of their souls, and standing defiantly because they are working through those who listen to fight to end this epidemic. About one percent of the US population is Native American, yet 40 percent of human trafficked sex slave victims are Native American. According to data from the in 2026, 96 percent of sexual violence against Native women is perpetrated by non-Natives. Data indicates that up to 97 percent of crimes against female Native Americans and 90 percent of crimes against male Native Americans are committed by non-Native individuals. Native American women are murdered at a rate up to ten times higher than the national average in certain counties. Yet for all other ethnicities, in about 90 percent of all murders the victim and perpetrator are of the same race or ethnicity.