Breaking the Silence: Unveiling the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Exposing the invisible crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in America.

Sep 22, 2025

As a doctor and activist in the reproductive justice space, I thought I knew how bad things were.

I didn’t.

I had no idea how deep the violence runs—or how invisible Native women have been made in our national conversation.

We’re launching a new investigative series in The Dossier, a sub-journal within In Her Name, to expose what’s really happening to women across America.

Here’s what you need to know:

Indigenous women face murder rates more than 10X the national average in some counties.
Tribal lands are routinely denied jurisdiction to investigate assaults—even when the victims are children.
Law enforcement often refuses to take reports. Parents are left begging on Facebook for help.
There’s no centralized tracking system for missing Native women. Families are told their loved ones “probably ran away.”

This is state-sanctioned violence.

It’s reproductive injustice.

It’s racism.

And we’re not going to look away.

Want to stand with Native women? Here’s how to start:

📖 Learn: Read our upcoming deep dive on the systemic erasure of Indigenous suffering—first post drops this week.
🪶 Follow Native-led orgs: Start with NIWRC (National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center) and MMIWG2S.
📢 Say their names: When you see a missing Indigenous woman or girl’s name, share it. Their lives depend on visibility.
🗺️ Check your state’s policy: Is your state participating in MMIWG tracking and prevention? Most aren’t.
🏛️ Hold your reps accountable: Demand jurisdictional reform and full funding for tribal law enforcement and health services.