UNITED STATES — Today is Red Shawl Day, an annual observance commemorating missing and murdered Indigenous women and children.
The day falls during National Native American Heritage Month. Individuals are encouraged to wear red throughout the week as a symbol of the loss of sacred lifeblood through violence.
“For decades, Native American and Alaska Native communities have endured disproportionately high rates of assault, abduction and murder,” the U.S. Department of the Interior posted to social media Wednesday morning.
A statewide report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People states that 710 Indigenous persons were reported missing between 2011 and 2020 in Wyoming. According to the report, 85% were juvenile, and 57% were female. They were reported missing from 22 of the 23 counties in Wyoming. The report also found that 105 Indigenous people — 34 females, 71 males — were murdered between 2000 and 2020.
“According to the Department of Justice, American Indian and Alaska Native women are missing and murdered at a rate of more than 10 times above the national average,” Grand Teton National Park shared in a past social media post.
A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that 84.3% of American Indian and Alaska Native women had experienced violence in their lifetime, including 56.1% who have experienced sexual violence, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
To learn more about the crisis, see the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing & Murdered Unit’s website.
