Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

Missing and Murdered Indigenous People or MMIP raises awareness about the disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, men, boys, and two-spirited individuals in North America, particularly in the United States and Canada.

MMIP highlights the alarming number of cases where Indigenous people have gone missing or have been victims of violence, often facing systemic challenges in receiving adequate attention, investigation, and justice.

MMIP Statistics:

  • The National Crime Information Center reports that, in 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls. However, the U.S. Department of Justice’s federal missing person database, NamUs, only logged 116 cases.

  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) females experienced the second-highest rate of homicide in 2020. Homicide was in the top 10 leading causes of death for AI/AN females between the ages of 1-45 years old in the year 2020.

  • Non-Hispanic AI/AN males had the second highest rate of homicide compared to males in all other racial and ethnic groups. Homicide was in the top 10 leading causes of death for AI/AN males between the ages of 1-54 years old in the year 2020.

  • A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) found that more than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women (84.3%) have experienced violence in their lifetime, including 56.1 percent who have experienced sexual violence.

  • In the year leading up to the study, 39.8% of American Indian and Alaska Native women had experienced violence, including 14.4% who had experienced sexual violence.

  • Overall, more than 1.5 million American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

The MMIP movement seeks to address the systemic issues contributing to the high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people, advocating for increased awareness, proper investigations, and justice for the affected individuals and their communities. 

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