MISSING & SURVIVING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
FIGHTING THE MMIP EPIDEMIC AND HEALING SURVIVORS
There is an ongoing epidemic of violence against Indigenous women. Too many are stolen from their families by traffickers. Too many are taken, never to return. Searches for missing women are community led, time is of the essence, and many are left to try to heal alone. There are also isolated Indigenous people who have survived residential boarding schools and separation from their communities who deserve healing and care. This Missing and Surviving Indigenous Peoples Initiative is for them.
The Challenge
Existing systems fail Indigenous communities impacted by violence, colonization, and systemic racism. Families of missing or murdered loved ones urgently need support and resources. Survivors of sexual violence and kidnapping deserve wellness care and healing. The hypersexualization and tokenization of Indigenous women by corporations and culture fuel this violence and must end. This epidemic of violence is real and demands immediate action.
The Solution
We amplify alerts for missing relatives and enable real-time information sharing to unite search efforts when every moment counts. We save lives by providing essential care to those searching for loved ones. Through therapy and beading sessions, we support mental recovery and healing. We break media silence and hold companies accountable for promoting violence against Indigenous women, demanding action together.
Long-term Impact
It is our goal to honor those who have suffered, those we have lost, and humanize statistics so that those who live on are respected and know their loved ones are honored, too. We must advocate for policy change, demand more resources and capacity, and wake people up to how certain extractive industries contribute so much harm to our people.
Meet Liz Marin, Program Director
Tlux shaa’ du’ stee, AKA Liz Marin is Tlingit from South East Alaska, currently residing in Washington. Liz has spent many years fighting for workers rights against large corporations, healing our community through beautiful beadwork and educating others on the correlation between fossil fuels, big banks and the Missing Murdered Indigenous people’s (MMIP) epidemic.
In her own words:
"As an Indigenous Woman of Tlingit heritage, I am most exicted about the other Indigenous folks I will have the chance to meet and learn from. The lives I will get to be a part of and I am so thankful for a team of amazing coworkers whom causes me to smile at the very thought of them. Without team work, we are nothing, but together we stand strong and can remind the colonialist that we are still here and not giving up. Keeping hope for the 8th generation and beyond.”