Advancing the Cause of Missing Black and Indigenous People

One of the things noted by some Black and Indigenous activists again and again in the case of the missing (now dead) young woman, Gabby Petito, was that there doesn’t seem to be the same attention on missing Black and Indigenous people that there was on Petito, a young white woman. And, while I don’t have any hard statistics in terms of the attention on missing people by race, I am hard-pressed to think of a time that a missing Black or Indigenous person got the sort of national attention for their cause that Petito got for hers (though if my memory is failing me, please let me know in the comments section).

Given the attention on this issue, I want to use this Indigenous Peoples’ Day to introduce my readers to organizations I came across that focus on helping Black and Indigenous people and their families. I’m going to highlight a few of these organizations, as well as links to their websites, below:

One organization that has received a large following for their focus on missing Indigenous people is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA (MMIW USA). The organization’s focus is twofold: trying to play their role in bringing Indigenous people home while also providing support to the families of the missing and murdered. https://mmiwusa.org/

Some of the experts on the issue of missing Indigenous women link violence against them to a disproportionate number of them going missing.[1] Therefore, organizations dedicated to addressing violence against Indigenous women and girls, such as the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (https://www.niwrc.org/) and the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (https://www.csvanw.org/) are worth people’s support. Speaking of the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, they have a page listing various regional coalitions also involved in the work of addressing violence against Indigenous women in their regions and/or tribes, for those interested in seeing this work also get supported at a more regional or even tribal level.

Another organization that has received a large following for their work with missing people of color in general is the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. (BAMFI). Their work is particularly focused on trying to help find missing persons of color, bring awareness to the issue, and provide resources for families of said missing persons. https://blackandmissinginc.com/

There is a site called Our Black Girls that highlights the stories of mistreated, missing, and murdered Black women in the United States. While this seems to be more of a personal passion project for the person running the site than an organization per se, donations help keep this site (and its mission) going strong. https://ourblackgirls.com/

These are a few organizations and entities I found that are involved in the advocacy of missing Black and Indigenous people in the United States. I’m hoping that this post will at least introduce readers to some places pushing for causes that are worth greater attention and support.[2]

One other note I should make before ending this post was that I struggled to find that many entities focused on issues related to missing Black and Indigenous people (perhaps reflecting the relative lack of attention on this issue), so if you’re aware of any additional organizations involved in that work, please mention that in the comments section below.

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[1] https://apnews.com/article/missing-in-indian-country-north-america-mountains-mo-state-wire-sd-state-wire-cb6efc4ec93e4e92900ec99ccbcb7e05

[2] If you’re wondering where to donate and where not to donate, not just here but in general, feel free to consult the blog post I wrote on this subject: https://blindinjusticeblog.com/2017/08/29/where-to-donate-and-where-not-to-donate/