The Factors that Contribute to the Rising Statistics of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

With roughly 582,641 missing and murdered people reported in the United States (U.S.) a year, Indigenous women and girls account for over 5,800 of these cases. For American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) women and girls aged 10-24, homicide is ranked top 5 as leading causes of death varying on age. The focus of this project is to understand what systemic factors contribute to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) population in the U.S. from various sociological perspectives. Focusing on theories such as Critical Race Theory (CRT), Social Conflict Theory, and Feminist Theory will aid in examining the relationship between race, gender, and societal structures that factor into MMWI. These theories will help identify the factors that solely target the Indigenous women community in various states of the U.S. Using literature analysis and statistical collection, the research will look at rates as a whole across the U.S. and identify certain states that have more significant rates of violence towards this population. In addition, it highlights the start and establishment of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement in society. Finally, calling attention to the possible changes, reforms, and policies that can be implemented to reduce the violence toward the Indigenous women population.