FILE
PHOTO: A
woman
with a
red hand
painted
on her
face,
which
calls
attention
to the
high
rates of
indigenous
women
who are
murdered
or
missing,
raises a
sign in
solidarity
with the
Black
Lives
Matter
Movement
at a
protest
in
Denver,
Colorado,
June 3,
2020.
(REUTERS/Kevin
Mohatt) |
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U.S.
Secretary
of
Interior
Deb
Haaland
listens
to a
question
during a
hearing
for a
budget
request
for the
Department
of the
Interior
for 2022
to the
Senate
Committee
on
Energy
and
Natural
Resources
on
Capitol
Hill in
Washington,
U.S.,
July 27,
2021.
(REUTERS/Joshua
Roberts) |
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As
Petito
case
captivates
U.S.,
missing
Native
women
ignored
reuters.com
Activists
lament
that the
crisis
of
missing
and
murdered
Native
American
women
doesn't
get the
attention
paid to
Gabby
Petito.
FBI
agents
found
Petito's
body in
Wyoming
on
Sunday
after
she went
missing
during a
road
trip
with her
fiancé.
The
search
for the
22-year-old
white
woman,
who
chronicled
her trip
on
social
media,
became
an
internet
sensation
and a
lead
story
for
major
news
outlets.
“There’s
a rate
of
violence
against
Native
women
that’s
happening
and it
doesn’t
seem to
be
highlighted,”
Jolene
Holgate,
a
director
for the
Coalition
to Stop
Violence
Against
Native
Women,
told New
Mexico
television
station
KRQE on
Tuesday.
“My
heart
goes out
to the
family
of Gabby
Petito.
I know
they’re
probably
looking
for
closure
and
that’s
very
important,”
said
Holgate.
“The
national
attention
and
resources
that
were put
toward
that
case
when
there’s
such a
high
number
of MMIW
(missing
and
murdered
indigenous
women)
cases in
Wyoming
and even
the
neighboring
state of
Montana,
it did
not feel
good. I
think
there’s
this
practice
of
discounting
indigenous
bodies
when it
comes to
folks
who go
missing
or
murdered.”
In
Wyoming,
the
state
where
Petito's
body was
found,
only 18%
of
indigenous
female
homicide
victims
get
newspaper
coverage,
compared
with 51%
for
white
female
and male
victims,
according
to a
state
report.
Between
2011 and
September
2020,
more
than 400
indigenous
women
and
girls
were
reported
missing
in
Wyoming,
according
to the
report.
Homicide
is the
third-leading
cause of
death
among
Native
women
who are
murdered
at rates
more
than 10
times
the
national
average,
according
to
federal
data.
Media
coverage
of
homicides
of
indigenous
people
was more
likely
to use
violent
language
and
portray
the
victim
in
negative
light,
according
to the
Wyoming
report.
Commentators
have
noted
that
coverage
of
missing
Black,
Hispanic
and
other
women
who are
not
white is
similarly
sparse
and
loaded.
Investigations
into
violence
against
Native
peoples
have
been
underfunded
for
decades,
with
murders
and
missing
persons
cases
often
unsolved
and
unaddressed,
according
to U.S.
Interior
Secretary
Deb
Haaland,
the
first
Native
American
to hold
the
position.
The
Bureau
of
Indian
Affairs,
which
runs law
enforcement
on
Indian
lands,
is part
of
Interior.
Earlier
this
year,
Haaland
set up a
Missing
and
Murdered
Unit.
The
multi-agency
taskforce
will
investigate
a crisis
she said
was
“centuries
in the
making.”
Reporting
By
Andrew
Hay in
Taos,
New
Mexico;
Editing
by Donna
Bryson
and
Cynthia
Osterman
Our
Standards:
The
Thomson
Reuters
Trust
Principles.
Advertise With Us:
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