May Is For MMIW
Read Time: 10 min
By Andrea Murdoch
Every month is awareness month for one cause or another. I know it seems daunting at times. It’s easy to become desensitized to the continuous stream of call to actions on social media however this one is really important. May is for MMIWG. Specifically, May fifth is National Awareness Day for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Violence runs rampant in our Indigenous communities and it needs to stop.
One of the hardest hitting statistics I readily share with people is that murder is the third leading cause of death in Indigenous women. Let me write that again. Murder is the third leading cause of death in Indigenous women. In 2018, the Urban Indian Health Institute and Sovereign Bodies Institute released a report compiled from 71 urban US cities citing that 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaskan Native women and girls were filed but only 116 were logged into the federal missing persons database. That is only 2% of reported cases logged into a federal database.
Some of the primary comments and questions I hear when discussing the issue of violence against Indigenous women in non-Indigeous spaces is, “I’ve never heard of MMIW so is it really that bad? I’m sure if it’s being reported the authorities will do something.” The answer is yes, it is that bad; but no, the authorities are not doing anything about the issue. There is a fear of reporting assaults in our communities because law enforcement was not designed to protect us and they show us that time and time again. When law enforcement officials know the abuser, know the rapist, know the killer, not only is there no justice for the victim but there is a certain level of risk for the friends and family who survived their loved one. There is the very real risk of retribution for speaking up.
I didn’t report any of my own assaults for fear of being blamed for what others did to me. The next morning, I remember thinking, “It wasn’t that bad right? I can’t report this assault because I did manage to get away before it went too far. I can’t prove that he spiked my drink. All I have to say is that he was very frustrated when I wouldn’t finish the last swig of my beer after leaving it unattended to visit the restroom. My sore neck from his arm around it will be waived off as sleeping wrong the night before. Besides, the single beer that I had will void anything I say but the three beers he slugged down won’t be considered.” It used to infuriate me that I felt that as a brown woman, I couldn’t report a white woman friend for crawling into my lap and feeling me up while I was driving. Being that I was the sober driver and she was well over the legal limit, I likely would have been treated like the perpetrator. Afterall, I was an Indigenous woman living in Milwaukee, WI, and the white woman in my car didn’t remember the details of the previous night so it must not have happened.
There is a correlation between violence against Indigenous women, land, and food. Living in one of the Four Corners states has been quite the education for me. Kim Smith of the Indigenous Goddess Gang states it best, “Violence on the land is violence on our bodies.” The Four Corners is prime real estate for extraction of natural resources. It is also home to several tribal nations including the Dinè people. These extraction sites are known as man camps since that is who populates them. Due to the secluded nature of both the reservation and these man camps, there is a high rate of Indigenous women and girls who are abducted, abused, sold, and murdered.
These extraction sites and practices are rape on the land. The effects have been detrimental to the environment and our food and water systems. Pollution causes illness to the land, water, and food. Forced removal and the depence of government commodity foods are damaging to our bodies as opposed to the nutrient dense nature of our traditional foods that sustain and strengthen our bodies.
The Indigenous culture is rich and diverse. Admire them rather than appropriating them. Respect our sovereign nations, peoples and bodies. Although the government designation and acronym reference women and girls, our two spirit, transgender, and non binary relatives are included. These relatives must also be recognized, honored, and protected.
My skill set and gift is the ability to tell stories through food. The more I connect and work within Indigenous communities the more I want to learn and contribute. I regularly ask myself numerous questions in rotation. How can I help improve food sovereignty and access? What do I learn next and from whom? How do I share the knowledge that has been passed on to me in a way that honors the Indigenous communities from which they came? I ask these questions and more because I want to continue building on the foundation that other activists left for me. One day I will be an ancestor and generations of relatives in the natural world will have to live with the progress I did or did not make.
Since establishing Four Directions Cuisine in 2017, I have committed business and personal resources to raise awareness for our Indigenounes communities and culture. One of my annual benefit dinners is the Warrior Goddess Dinner which raises awareness for MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Girls and 2 Spirits) and funding for National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. NIWRC works to end violence against American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women through strengthening tribal sovereignty. I also release a new hat design annually in coordination with Warrior Goddess to help supplement funds raised during the dinner.
In addition to Warrior Goddess this year, I am also releasing a book titled #BringThemHome in late May. 14% of net book sales will be donated to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. By 1925, roughly 60,000 Indigenous children had been abducted from their families and forced to assimilate into Western culture. Abuse in varying forms and murder were common. Children’s bodies were buried on school grounds in a Christian ceremony rather than being returned to their sovereign nations. Even in death our stolen relatives were forcibly colonized.
How can you help? Learn how to be an ally. Educate yourself about the Original Peoples of these lands. A few groups and organizations to consider following via newsletter and social media as well as donate include National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Denver Indian Health and Family Services and Stronghold Society. A few audio references to consider tuning into include All My Relations podcast, Toasted Sister podcast and the Indigenous Food room under Food is Religion club in the Clubhouse app. A few publications to add to your reading list include Braiding Sweetgrass, the Indigenous Goddess Gang, and maybe even some federal legislature to see just how complex and excluded our Indigenous communities are from society and government.
Sulpayki (Quechua for “thank you”)
Chef Andrea Murdoch is an Andean Native born in Caracas Venezuela. Murdoch is using food to trace her own culture while educating the public about the expansive world of Indigenous food systems. After being classically trained as a pastry chef at The Culinary Institute of America, Murdoch started exploring Indigenous flavors and origins independently for her business Four Directions Cuisine, LLC which launched in Denver, CO November 2017.
The four main pillars of her business are sourcing locally, sourcing Indigenously, education and community work. In Murdoch’s interpretation of Indigenous cuisine, she starts cultural conversations and serves up her personal experiences in the form of food.
