Indigenous women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than the national average (U.S. Department of Justice), and homicide is one of the leading causes of death for young Indigenous women. Nonetheless, many Americans are unfamiliar with the prevalence of the issue.  Thousands of cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls across the United States have never produced national headlines or gone viral on social media. There were no demands for justice from those in power.

In a publication from the Minnesota Law Review, Marie Quasius explained that “Native American women suffer sexual assault at a much higher rate and with more serious consequences than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. Further, such rapes are overwhelmingly committed by individuals outside the Native American community.” 

The absence of awareness or widespread scrutiny in these cases is the focus of a report released last year that documented 2,306 missing Native American women and girls in the U.S., about 1,800 of whom were killed or vanished within the past 40 years.

A university dance group is doing creative work to spread the message.

Watch this video: Ozhigaabawi (One stands Ready) BYU Living Legends 2021

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