Utah Must Lead the Way

Salt Lake City, Utah is one of THE TOP TEN states FOR MISSING & MURDERED INDIGENOUS persons CASes

A recent report from the Sovereign Bodies Institute found Salt Lake City, Utah to be in the top ten cities for cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Utah Must Lead the Way: Ending the Violence on Indigenous Relatives is a campaign that addresses silence and ignorance, ensuring that Utah residents understand the critical need to create comprehensive and legal change in our communities to honor and protect Indigenous Relatives. We must address symptoms of settler colonialism such as land dispossession, poverty, homelessness, racism, sexism, rape, trafficking, and environmental racism.

an overview on the Missing and Murdered Crisis

Violence Against Indigenous femals

A 2016 National Institute of Justice report shows that 4 in 5 Native women (84.3%) will experience violence in their lifetime. Of that 84.3% of women, 56% of those violent experiences are sexual and 55% are physical. Among Native youth alone, more than 60% have been recently exposed to violence in different sectors of their lives – at home, school, and within their community. Additionally, in some reservations, the homicide rate is 10 times the rate of the national average.

A 2019 Center for Disease Control report shows that homicide is the 2nd and 3rd leading cause of death for Native American girls ages 1 to 4 and 5 to 9 respectively. It also reports homicide is the 3rdleading cause of death for Native American women ages 20 to 24.

The Utah Office of Vital Records and Statistics reports the homicide rate for Native Americans in Utah is 8.3 per 100,000, four times the rate for Whites at 2 per 100,000.

The National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 incidents of missing Native American females.

Multiple Pathways to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples in Utah

Domestic Violence – Native youth who see violence in the home are 75% more likely to become a future victim of violence or a perpetrator. According to the Indian Health Service data, violence accounts for 75% of deaths for Native youth, 12-20 years of age.

Sexual Violence – More than 1 in 3 Native American women (39.8%) experienced violence in the last year. 14.4% experience sexual violence. 11.6% experienced stalking.

Sex Trafficking – The Garden of Truth (2009) study on the trafficking of Native Women is the only study that exists. It reports, 39% were trafficked before the age of 18; 37% were used by more than 500 men; 84% physically assaulted while being “used.” This is underestimated and anecdotal evidence suggests a disproportionate rate

Factors Underlying Pathways

Prior victimization – 84.3% of Native American women experienced violence at least once in their lifetime.
Child maltreatment – 11.4/100,000 experience abuse and neglect compared to 9.1 for the national rate; 59.7% of Native American children confirmed as victims of neglect.
Family and Community Poverty – In Utah 12.4% unemployment rate for Native Americans; 28.4% of Native Americans live below the federal poverty line; 54.7% of single mothers with children live below the federal poverty line, High unemployment rates on reservations, (e.g. Navajo Nation 55% ).
State, federal, and county data management systems are not properly tracking crimes against Native Americans.
Complicated jurisdiction regimes (federal-state-tribal) make it difficult to prosecute crimes against non-native perpetrators.

UTAH

The Sovereign Bodies Institute estimates, from their ongoing investigation, that there are 34 cases of missing and murdered in Utah.

The Murder Accountability Project estimates that 50% of homicides of Native Americans in Utah are NOT properly/accurately reported.

Natural resource extraction activities could increase the chances of Native American females being trafficked, murdered, or going missing. A recent (2020) study in the Navajo Nation found a strong connection between fracking and sex trafficking.

Anecdotal evidence points to a larger phenomenon in Utah that current data cannot illustrate.

UTAH MUST LEAD THE WAY | ENDING THE VIOLENCE ON INDIGENOUS RELATIVES

From the First Nations people of Canada to the Inuit of the Arctic Circle, Turtle Island, the North “American” continent without borders: the land, air, water, animal relatives and Indigenous people are suffering from a violent 500+ year colonial history. Considering Indigenous people have belonged to this continent since time-immemorial, the shuddering powers of genocide and environmental degradation have left staggering and unapologetic consequences for Indigenous Nations. It is a reality that delves deep into the heart of a legacy predominated by patriarchal control and a conquered landscape. One of the most difficult and continual issues Indigenous People face is the extremely high rate of missing and murdered people. There are numbers, stats, etc. to support understanding this violence but as Indigenous communities, we live with the reality in our hearts, minds, spirits and bodies.

A recent report from the Urban Indian Health Institue found Salt Lake City to be in the top ten cities for cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Utah Must Lead the Way: Ending the Violence on Indigenous Relatives is a campaign that addresses the silence and ignorance, ensuring that we as Utah residents understand the critical need to create comprehensive and holistic change in our communities as a path to honoring and protecting our Indigenous Relatives. We must address symptoms of settler colonialism such as: land-dispossession, poverty, homelessness, racism, sexism, rape, trafficking and environmental racism.

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utah must lead the way