There is a silent epidemic taking place in the United States–the widespread killing and disappearance of indigenous women–and there is no comprehensive, federal database tracking these cases, nor is there any significant focus on solutions. The consequence is that indigenous girls today are facing an uncertain future of race-and gender-based violence, without consideration or protection. These images feature female youth of the Mdewakanton Band of Dakota Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota, as photographed on medium format film.
In November 2018, the Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) released a report on this nationwide emergency, stating that 5,712 cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) were reported in 2016, but that only 116 of them were logged in the Department of Justice database, due to limited resources and poor data collection. Very little attention is given to the daily lives of the individuals who are directly experiencing this crisis female indigenous girls and teens–and who currently face murder rates up to 10 times higher than the rest of the country.
