Montana j-school project and Canadian government inquiry put spotlight on violence against Native American women - Entrepreneur Generations

University of Montana School of Journalism art

In the past three years, 671 Native American women have gone missing and/or been murdered in the U.S., according to an impressive news package from the University of Montana School of Journalism. The real number is likely much higher, since the data is often poorly collected by federal, state and tribal governments.

The disappearances and deaths "are not just numbers or data to be formed into graph lines, but women’s lives ended or hanging in the limbo of disappearance. The 2019 Montana Native News Project investigates the complex crisis of Native American women disappearing in Montana, who they leave behind and how communities are trying to address the issue," write the project editors and advisors.

Women, especially women of color, continue to suffer worldwide because of trauma and inequality, but Native American women are on the forefront of confronting the issue, the editors write. That's why the Sovereign Bodies Institute, which worked with the UM journalism students for this project, began raising awareness about it by creating a database of missing and murdered indigenous women.

The issue is receiving increasing attention in Canada too. Human rights abuses against indigenous women and girls have led to violence that amounts to genocide, according to a years-long government inquiry that released its findings Monday. The more than 1,000-page report, which also highlights violence against LGBT+ indigenous people, is "the conclusion of more than two years of research involving at least 2,380 people who shared their stories or artwork with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls," Merrit Kennedy reports for NPR.

The inquiry recommended a lengthy list of actions to end the violence. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who ordered the inquiry, promised to review the report of develop a plan for meaningful action, Kennedy reports.

from The Rural Blog http://irjci.blogspot.com/2019/06/montana-j-school-project-and-canadian.html Montana j-school project and Canadian government inquiry put spotlight on violence against Native American women - Entrepreneur Generations

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