Understanding the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis: An Analysis of the NamUs Database

Abstract

Within the United States, there is an epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Using data from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) repositories on missing and unidentified women, we examined how demographic and regional differences affected case status. Within the NamUs database, we found that American Indian/Alaska Native women are 135% more likely to be listed within the “unidentified remains” cases than women of other races. The results also showed that in states with relatively high urban population densities, women of all races were 250% more likely to be found dead and remain unidentified than women in places with a low urban population. We conclude by discussing three areas in which policy can help bring Indigenous women’s plight back to the fore: (a) in data collection efforts, (b) in increased support for Tribal police, and (c) via the media’s purposeful focus on Indigenous issues.

The Role Nurses Can Play in Addressing and Preventing the Prevalence of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)

“…The seven quantitative studies used state or national data sets to examine rates of missingness among Indigenous women and girls (Fox et al, 2022; Hawes et al, 2023; Huey & Ferguson, 2023; Joseph, 2021; Richards et al, 2021; Sharma et al, 2021; Yellow Horse et al, 2022). Two studies focused on thematic analysis of case studies (Gray & Benning, 2019; Johnstone & Lee, 2021).…”

“…In fact, one participant reported a deep “knowing” about the trauma these women have experienced after engaging in the exhibit (Desmoulins, 2019). Several studies raised the issue of gaps in victim services as well as health providers’ and the public’s lack of MMIWG awareness (Fox et al, 2022; Hawes et al, 2023). Some studies reported that tribal members were unaware of victim services (Koch et al, 2022) and assumed if they reported to law enforcement they would not be believed (Murphy-Oikonen et al, 2022; Olson-Pitawanakwat & Baskin, 2021; Parloe & Campbell, 2021).…”

“…A theme raised in several studies is the inconsistency in data collection across agencies (Hawes et al, 2023; McCourt, 2021; Richards et al, 2021). For example, NamUs includes data from law enforcement in only 10 states in the United States because the other states are not mandated to report missing person data to NamUs (Hawes et al, 2023).…”

“…In a secondary analysis of the National Center for Health Statistics Detailed Mortality files, AI/AN population had the lowest life expectancy of all U.S. minoritized groups and MMIWG causes for mortality accounting for 6.6% of the AI/AN-to-White life expectancy gap for women (Yellow Horse et al, 2022). Researchers have suggested that this may be secondary to issues with data collection and lack of interagency collaboration between law enforcement including Tribal police (Hawes et al, 2023). State and Federal law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), state police, and county sheriffs who are responsible for addressing MMIWG are not coordinating with Indian law enforcement (Rothenberg, 2019), leaving gaps in response to a missing person report and available victim services.…”

“…This lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies is of particular concern in the United States, along with lack of promised resources, geographical isolation, and jurisdictional limitations on tribal justice systems (Deer, 2004). As previously mentioned only 10 states in the United States are mandated to report missing persons to the federal registry (NamUS), increasing the underreporting of cases (Hawes et al, 2023). Violence against Indigenous women and girls is also a major concern in Canada.…”