Restoration Magazine

There are no comprehensive resources tracking cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) in the U.S. and Canada. However, one indigenous woman scholar is working to change that, by creating and maintaining the largest MMIWG database in existence.

Annita Lucchesi is a current PhD student at the University of Lethbridge, studying Cultural, Political, and Social Thought. For the last two years, she has been researching and collecting data on MMIWG, not just for her own scholarly work, but to better support those fighting for justice for our stolen sisters. She has shared this data with tribal governments and organizations, media, and policy advocates, in hopes of helping to raise awareness on this critical issue.

“The database seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of this violence, by tracking detailed information on each case,” said Lucchesi. “Such details can include victim biographical information like age and tribal affiliation, information pertinent to the justice system (like race and conviction status of the offender), and additional factors that may have contributed to the lack of safety for that individual. Such factors include if they were in foster care, were a victim of sex trafficking, or had experienced domestic violence.” These details Lucchesi hopes will provide for a much richer analysis of why Native women and girls are experiencing such violence, what the risk factors are, and where the gaps in protection may be.

Currently 2,130 cases of Native women and girls are logged in the database. Some of the statistics captured in the database include:

• 114 unidentified Native women and girls classified as Jane Does;
• 587 of the cases are Native girls age 18 or younger;
• 679 of the cases are missing persons;
• 1,451 homicides;
• 11 cases of trans-women;
• 571 cases have some combination of domestic violence, sexual assault, experience in sex work, or involvement of the foster care system and/or law enforcement (police brutality);
• 123 cases involved sexual assault;
• 144 involved sex work/sex trafficking;
• 27 cases were police brutality or deaths in jail custody;
• 274 victims experienced domestic violence; and
• Approximately 38% of cases where the victim was reported as having been in foster care at one point also reported that they ended up in sex work/trafficking.

These numbers reflect the current data available in the database, which is updated weekly; for that reason, it is important to remember that these numbers are always changing. Additionally, Lucchesi estimates that there are at least 20,000 cases from the last 100 years not currently logged in the database (based on estimates utilizing the annual number of cases for the last several years). Lucchesi is attempting to fill in those historic gaps by meeting with indigenous communities directly, and will be traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada to do so.

Lucchesi makes the data publicly available by request. To request access to data, learn more about her work, or to submit information on a case, please contact Annita at annitalucchesi@gmail.com.

"These numbers represent our Native relatives who we honor and pledge to seek justice for their stolen lives."

- Lucy Simpson, Executive Director, NIWRC

#MMIWG Online Resources

NIWRC #MMIW Community Advocacy Toolkit: Restoration, June 2017: https://goo.gl/qMlQk8

Indian Law Resource Center’s Hill Briefing: https://goo.gl/5bqA7B

National Day of Awareness MMIW, Senate Resolution (S. Res. 60): https://goo.gl/3mtBN7