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Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You know, we've all seen those missing person posters, the
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  ones that just kind of stop you in your tracks
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  and you can't help but think, what if that was
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  someone I knew, someone I loved. It's a thought that
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  I think taps into a universal fear, But it's a
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  sad reality that some communities face this fear far more
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  often than others.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, and one of those communities, unfortunately, is
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  Indigenous people here in the US, particularly women and girls.
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  It's a crisis that's been overlooked for far too.
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  Speaker 1: Long, absolutely, and that's exactly what we're diving deep into today,
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  the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people.
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  Speaker 3: We're going to be.
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  Speaker 1: Looking at this really powerful piece from the Washington Post
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  titled It's been going on for decades marking Missing and
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  Murdered Indigenous Person's Day. So by the end of this
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  deep dive, hopefully you'll understand the urgency of this issue,
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  the historical context, and why it demands all of our attention.
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  Speaker 2: We're talking about real lives, real families torn apart by
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  this crisis and really a systemic failure to protect some
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  of the most vulnerable people in our society.
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  Speaker 3: It's heartbreaking to say the least.
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  Speaker 1: I mean. The article highlights a chilling statistic from the
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  Urban Indian Health Institute, and it says that homicide is
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  the third leading cause of death among Native American women.
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  Speaker 2: It's easy to get lost in the numbers sometimes, but yeah,
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  like you said, these are real people. Eat statistic represents
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  a daughter, a sister, a mother, a friend. Their stories
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  need to be told, their cases need to be solved,
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  and their families deserve justice for sure.
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  Speaker 1: And the article actually does a good job of putting
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  a human face on this crisis. They share the story
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  of Hannah Harris, a young Indigenous woman who went missing
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  and was tragically found murdered back in twenty thirteen. Her case, though,
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  became kind of a turning point, a really tragic wake
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  up call that forced people to start paying attention to
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  this issue.
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  Speaker 2: What's remarkable about Hannah's case is how her family channeled
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  their grief into action. You know, they refuse to let
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  her story be forgotten, and their fight for justice actually
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  led to the creation of the National Day of Awareness
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  for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls, which is
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  observed every year on mayfeif, Hannah's birthday.
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  Speaker 1: That's incredible but it's also just a stark reminder of
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  the systemic neglect that allows this crisis to continue.
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  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, the article mentions that back in twenty sixteen,
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  there were over fifty seven hundred cases of missing Indigenous
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  women and girls reported to the National Crime Information Center,
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  but the Department of Justice database only had one hundred
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  and sixteen of those cases logged.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, and that right there, that discrepancy highlights a
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  huge problem, a pattern of underreporting and frankly, a lack
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  of proper investigation when it comes to cases involving Indigenous people.
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  Speaker 1: It's almost as if these cases, these people are treated
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  as invisible, and that just adds another layer to the
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  pain and frustration felt by the families who are desperate
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  for answers, desperate for justice.
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  Speaker 2: And there are a lot of factors that play into this.
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  The lack of accurate data collection, the jurisdictional complexities because
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  of tribal lands, and frankly, sometimes just indifference from law enforcement.
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  It's a lot of different things that have allowed this
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  crisis to just persist in the shadow for far too long.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: It's just it's a tragedy, really, But you know what
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  strikes me is that even in the midst of all
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  this heartbreak, there's also this powerful story of resilience and
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  activism that goes back decades, Like, long before this crisis
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  made national headlines, there were people communities fighting so hard
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  to bring awareness to this issue and to demand justice.
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  Speaker 2: Oh. Absolutely, this didn't just happen overnight. This movement has
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  deep roots and it speaks volumes about the people who
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  just refuse to let these tragedies be ignored.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. The Post article it actually tells the
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  story of one woman, Mona Woodward, who kind of became
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  an accidental activist, you could say, back in the late
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  nineteen eighties, after her sister Eleanor was murdered in nineteen
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  eighty two, she took to the streets of Vancouver with
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  this really powerful message.
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  Speaker 2: It was incredible. She and her friends they decided they
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  weren't going to wait for anyone else to do something.
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  They organized these demonstrations demanding justice for Eleanor, of course,
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  but really for all of the missing and murdered Indigenous
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  women community.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, that must have taken so much courage to stand
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  up like that, especially at a time when nobody seemed
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  to be listening.
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  Speaker 2: It really does. It speaks to their strength and determination,
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  and they chose a really poignant symbol for their demonstrations,
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  Valentine's Day. Can you imagine that a day that's meant
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  for celebrating love, they turned it into this day of mourning,
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  a day to demand.
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  Speaker 3: Justice's that's powerful, and that march it still goes on today,
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  it's us every year.
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  Speaker 2: It's this powerful symbol of solidarity, a reminder that these
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  women are not forgotten.
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  Speaker 1: It's just incredible how this movement that was born out
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  of such grief and frustration has become this powerful force
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  for change. But, like the article says, even with more awareness,
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  even with some wins on the legal side of things,
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  the fight's not even close to being over, you know exactly.
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  Speaker 2: Agnes Woodward, Ona's niece, she's carrying the torch today and
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  she says something really important. She says, we're grateful for
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  the awareness, but the conditions that cause the violence haven't
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  really changed.
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  Speaker 3: So it's not just about it awareness.
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  Speaker 1: It's about actually addressing the root causes, right, But what
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  does that look like? What concrete steps are being taken
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  to create real change, lasting change?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? Awareness is huge, for sure, but it's just the
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  first step, right, what we really need is action. We
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  need to see that systemic change. Yeah, So what's being
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  done and what are some of those concrete steps toward
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  justice and healing that have been taken.
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  Speaker 1: Well, there have been some positive developments lately, especially when
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  it comes to actual laws being passed, like Savannahs Act
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  for example, and the Not Invisible Act. I think these
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  show that there's at least a growing awareness of this
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  crisis at a national level, which is a good sign.
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  Speaker 2: Right right, those are the ones I've heard about too,
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  But to be honest, I'm not one hundred percent clear
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  on what they actually do, oh for sure. So Savannah's Act,
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  that one passed in twenty twenty, and it mainly focuses
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  on improving data collection and how all these different law
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  enforcement agencies work together, tribal, federal, state, because you know,
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  a big problem in these cases has always been that
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  lack of reliable data, knowing what's really going on, and
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  then just getting everyone on the same page.
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  Speaker 1: Uh huh, Okay, So it's about connecting those dots so
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  these cases don't just slip through the cracks exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And then you've got the Non Invisible Act, also passed
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  in twenty twenty, and this one's all about making those
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  federal agencies work better together and really improving how law
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  enforcement responds to these cases, especially when it comes to
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  working with tribal communities.
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  Speaker 3: Makes sense.
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  Speaker 1: It sounds like both of those are trying to fix
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  a system that's been broken for well way too long.
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  Speaker 3: And it's not just legislation either. Right.
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  Speaker 1: Didn't President Biden do something to formally recognize this issue too.
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  Speaker 2: He did in twenty twenty one. He made Missing and
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  Murdered Indigenous Person's Awareness Day officials. So now every May fifth,
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  we remember the victims, support those families, and really use
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  it as a data say we have to do better.
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  Speaker 3: That's got to count for something. Right, Having that national recognition.
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  Speaker 2: It definitely does. It brings it into the light, you know,
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  makes people pay attention, and hopefully that leads to more resources,
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  more effort put towards solving this. But you are, rights
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  alone doesn't bring those families their loved ones back. We
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  need to see those laws actually making a difference out
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  there in the real.
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  Speaker 1: World, absolutely, because what good is a law if it's
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  just sitting there on paper, right, it needs to be
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  put into action exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And that's where the voices of the families, the people
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  who are hurting the most, those voices are so important.
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  The article talks about Angel Charlie. She's the executive director
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  of the Coalition to Stop Violence against Native Women, and
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  she really emphasizes how crucial it is to listen to
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  those families, understand what they're going through, and make sure
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  their needs are met.
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  Speaker 1: It's so easy to get lost in the statistics and
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  the policy debates, but at the end of the day,
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  we're talking about human beings, real people who are dealing
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  with this agonizing pain, this uncertainty, this desperate need for answers.
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  Speaker 3: What happens to those families.
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  Speaker 1: Though, when a loved one goes missing.
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  Speaker 3: What do they face?
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  Speaker 2: It can be a nightmare, honestly, just trying to navigate
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  the system. Charlie talks about how families hit roadblocks everywhere
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  trying to report a loved one missing, trying to get
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  the police to take them seriously, and even when there
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  is an investigation, a lot of times those families feel
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  shut out, left in the dark.
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  Speaker 1: Man. That's got to be incredibly frustrating. So how do
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  we do better? What can we do as individuals? Because
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  thoughts and prayers only go so far. What actual concrete
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  actions can we take to support those families.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Agnes Woodward remember her. She offers a really powerful example.
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  She talked about how after her aunt was murdered, her
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  neighbor brought over these care packages for her family, just
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  simple things, but it meant the world to them. So
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  she started doing the same thing for other families of
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  missing and murdered Indigenous people, sending them care packages all
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  across the US and Canada.
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  Speaker 1: That's incredible, just that small act of kindness. You know,
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  it speaks volumes. It tells those families, hey, you're not alone,
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  we see you, we hear you, and we're here for you, exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And there are other ways to help too, donating to
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  organizations like the Coalition to Stop Violence against Native Women,
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  for instance. They do such vital work advocating for those
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  policy changes, providing direct support to families, and really just
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  shining a light on this issue.
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  Speaker 1: This has been such a powerful conversation, really eye opening.
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  We've covered a lot and it's heavy stuff, but we've
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  also learned about the incredible resilience the activism that's happening
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  in these communities. So as we wrap up this deep dive.
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  What's the one thing you really want our listeners to
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  take away from this?
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  Speaker 2: That the fight's not over, not even close, but there's hope.
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  There are things we can all do. We can educate ourselves,
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  we can listen to those Indigenous voices, the activists, the families,
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  and we can support the organizations on the front lines
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  making a difference every single day.
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  Speaker 1: It's a call to action for all of us. Don't
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  just listen and move on. Let this be the start
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  of something. Learn more, get involved, find your way to
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  be a part of the solution. Even the smallest act,
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  multiply it across a nation can make a world of difference.