
MMIW: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, New Mexico
Trigger Warning: The content in this lesson contains information and discussions about violence against women, sexual violence against women, and suicide.
Rosalie Fish (Cowlitz Tribe and Muckleshoot Tribe) currently running for the University of Washington Track and Field Team. As a high school senior at Muckleshoot Tribal School, Rosalie Fish made international headlines when she painted a red handprint over her mouth to draw attention and honor the lives of missing and murdered indigenous women.
MMIW stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. MMIW is a movement emerging from Native communities and Indigenous grassroots organizers bringing attention to the pandemic of violence against Indigenous women. The National Crime Information Center reports that there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls through the U.S. Department of Justice’s federal missing person database. Native American women are more than ten times more likely to be murdered than the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Justice; homicide is the third leading cause of death among 10-24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Homicide). New Mexico ranks 3rd as the “highest violent” state in the United States.
RED HAND SYMBOL
A red hand over the mouth symbolizes a growing MMIW movement. It stands for all the missing Indigenous women and girls whose voices are unanswered. It also represents Native peoples now rising to say #NoMoreStolenSisters.
MMIW DAY
February 14- MMIW National Day of Action and Awareness.
May 5- MMIW Day.
MMIW ACTIONS
The Not Invisible Act is the first bill to be introduced by four members of federally recognized tribes: Representatives Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna), Tom Cole (Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma), Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin), and Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee Nation). The Not Invisible Act would bring together a committee of law enforcement, tribal authorities, federal partners and solutions to the crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women.
Unit Lessons
- Watch YouTube Rosalie Fish Running for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, TEDx Youth
- Activity- Film discussion: Review the trigger warning with students before watching the TedTalk. After viewing, review questions with students.
- What is the central message of the talk?
- Who benefits from sharing the message in this way?
- Why might the speaker have created this talk with this message?
- What is your previous knowledge of this topic?
- Create visual products using media to bring awareness to the MMIW movement and Native communities. You will develop a visual product like flyers, informational brochure, or poster, using the data and discussions to apply your learning. Select text, images, and layout to draw engagement and stick out in the viewer’s mind.
Questions
- Compelling Question: What is being done to acknowledge and address the problem of missing, murdered and indigenous women?
- Staging the Question: How can you use your platform (art, sports, social media, etc) to promote movements that you are passionate about?
- Supporting Question 1: How have indigenous communities been affected by violence in the past and how do they continue to be affected today?
- Who benefits from the epidemic of murdered, missing and indigenous women?
- How does Rosalie’s story represent the resilience of indigenous women?
- Supporting Question 2: What role do state and federal governments have in propagating violence against missing, murdered and indigenous women?
- Supporting Question 3:What is the significance to the MMIW movement of the red hand print across the mouth?
- In what ways can communities provide support in epidemic social crises?
New Mexico Social Studies Standards:
Ethnic, Cultural, and Identity Studies
- 9-12.ECI.13. Recognize and value my group identities without perceiving or treating others as inferior.
- 9-12.ECI.14. Identify and analyze cultural, differently abled, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, national, political, Diversity and Identity racial, and religious identities and related perceptions and behaviors by society of these identities.
- 9-12.ECI.17. Compare and contrast the various origins (indigenous, forced, voluntary) of identity groups in the United States.
- 9-12.ECI.18. Examine the impact of historical cultural, economic, political, religious, and social factors that resulted in unequal power relations among identity groups.
- 9-12.ECI.19. Examine the role assimilation plays in the loss of cultural, ethnic, racial, and religious identities and language.
