Press Release April 13, 2022
Re: May 5, 2022: National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)
The Native American International Caucus (NAIC) encourages United Methodists to observe the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.
May 5 is the birthday of Hannah Harris, a Cheyenne woman who went missing in 2013.
Across the United States, thousands of native women and girls go missing each year, and most cases remain unsolved. An indigenous woman is 10X more likely to go missing than other persons. Many of these women and girls become victims of human trafficking.
The encourage your legislators to support actions that will lead to the federal government working with Tribal Nations to address the disproportionately high number of missing or murdered Indigenous people, to increase coordination to investigate and resolve these cases and ensure accountability, and address the underlying causes behind those numbers, violence, violent crime, systemic racism, economic disparities, and substance use and addiction.
United Methodist can raise awareness in their churches and communities by holding a May 5 event. Red dresses hung on the church grounds represent those who have gone missing.
Designate the month of May as a time of prayer for those missing and for their families. Mother’s Day is an excellent time to lift these women in prayer.
Resources including Event Guidance, reproduceable images, and worship resources can be found at www.naicumc.com/mmiw-awareness–resources.
Contact: Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin lakotaeastin@gmail.com