The phenomenon of missing and murdered Native American women is a symptom.  

The illness is colonialism, which spawned disruption of Indigenous societies; disruption of the body, the community, the culture.  Colonialism produced an invisible population, existing on the political periphery in this country, which has resulted in a lack of accurate data and lack of action.

ighty percent of Native women will experience violence in their lifetime.  Native women are three times more likely to be sexually assaulted and 90% of the sexual assaults are by non-Native men.  This is a unique phenomenon within ethnic populations, and one that reflects a 500-year historic precedent. Domination is the defining message that envelopes violence against women.  A woman is dominated, and she is made to feel powerless.