“There is systemic racism, personal bias, and often a lack of understanding of jurisdiction in law enforcement.”
By Sierra Clark
Reporter
Traverse City Record-Eagle
No one knows for sure the number that have gone missing, or have been murdered, because there has been no single source for reliable data, and the information that is there is often incomplete or inaccurate.
Indigenous women in the United States are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than the national average, according to the U.S Department of Justice, with homicide being one of the leading causes of death for young native women (third for women aged 10-24).
After decades of grass-roots advocacy from Indigenous activists and victims’ families, federal and state governments have recently begun to take notice with task forces and legislation.
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) launched a new website dedicated to investigating missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native people around the country, the first of its kind offered by the federal government.