Episode 1. The History, Trauma, and Tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womxn.

Dream Nation Love

This five-part series brings attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womxn Crisis in the US. MMIW cases are also prevalent in Canada but this series highlights the situation in America. The systemic struggle is so complex that it would take years to cover all the stories. These MMIWR true crime episodes are different from the usual Dream Nation Love format. They are the first multi-episode story that DNL has published. The idea for the MMIWR (R standing for relatives) series originated from a conversation I had six years ago with my sister-in-law. I first noticed airport signs in Washington asking people to keep an eye out for human trafficking victims. Our conversation quickly went from human trafficking to the MMIW crisis. I’ve never heard of either back East. It was astounding to learn that this was happening in the US (and Canada) and that the mainstream media was barely covering the issue. The more I spoke to families and read articles, the bigger the MMIW story would become. The systemic struggles created an environment for many Indigenous Womxn, Boys, Girls, and Two-Spirits to be susceptible to murder and/or disappearances. Most are not aware that there are 5,712 cases of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls in the US. The episodes are edited and produced by Melissa Spence who is an Audio Producer and a Voice-over artist. An Anishinaabe Ojibway, Melissa is enrolled in Lake Manitoba First Nation of Canada. She is the Co-host of the Indigenous Vision Podcast alongside Souta Callinglast who is Blackfoot. Indigenous Vision is a collective of Native professionals empowering the future of Indigenous communities in Canada and the US. They do so through educational resources for environmental and cultural preservation. I am forever grateful to Melissa for her talent, friendship, and knowledge. The introduction features the “Strong Woman” song performed by Nicole Matthews, Guadalupe Lopez, and Angelica Allery. Nicole is the Executive Director of The Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition and Angelica is the Membership and Outreach Coordinator. Guadalupe is the Executive Director of Violence Free Minnesota. The song is a part of Nicole’s Tedx talk ”How Indigenous Values Can Help Sexual Violence Victims Heal.” Thank you to the women for sharing the powerful performance with the podcast. The voices that you are about to hear on the podcast are from Mary Katherine Nagle, an Attorney specializing in tribal sovereignty of Native Nations and Peoples. She is also one of the country's most-produced Native American Playwrights. Mary is also the Executive Director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program. You will also hear Minnesota Senator Mary Kunesh who created the MMIWG Task Force, to assess and recommend solutions to the crisis in Minnesota. as well as a report on MMIW with mandates to the Minnesota legislature. Mary is a founding member of the Native American and People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) caucuses. You will also hear from Amber Crotty who is a Delegate of the Navajo Nation (one of the largest Indian reservations in the US) about the MMIWR crisis there. The six years of research culminated in these episodes. The goal is to amplify Indigenous Voices and feature interviews with survivors, relatives, state patrol, tribal law enforcement, sexual assault coalition directors, senators, lawyers advocating for tribal sovereignty, environmentalists, and many more voices impacted by the MMIW crisis. After listening to the episodes, my dream is that you share the knowledge. In the hopes of creating awareness, advocating for change, protecting yourself or others, identifying persons being trafficked, and speaking up against injustice. Thank you for listening. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dreamnation/support