According to the U.S. Department of Justice, four out of five Native American women have experienced violence within their lifetime. Over half of Native American women will have experience sexual assault, rape, and stalking. Native American men are more likely to experience intimate partner violence through emotional/psychological abuse. The Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness states that 78% to 85% of two-spirit relatives (members of the LBTQIA2S+ community) experience gender-based violence including sexual and physical assault. Our Native children are impressionable at such a young age which makes them more susceptible to sex trafficking via online gaming and social media. This is nothing new nor surprising when we look at the course of the treatment of Native peoples historically. This public health crisis has been ongoing since settlers set foot on Turtle Island.

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The family of the late Terri McCauley is just one of the thousands reported MMIR cases where the lack of media presence and the negligent inaction to not prosecute the perpetrator contributed to over forty years of intergenerational trauma. In 2021, the family made the decision to organize the first MMIR Pow Wow at the Riverside Park in Sioux City, Iowa. One of their goals was to create a cultural safe space and bring healing to not only their family, but to all MMIR families who experienced the same insufferable heartache and pain. A year later, a relative of the late Paulette "Paulie" Walker (Winnebago) joined the pow wow committee. Paulie Walker also went missing and was found murdered in Riverside, California in the 80's. Her body was stumbled upon due to a car accident where the reporting officer was initially getting measurements then found Paulie's body nearby. Unknown at the time, she married her then boyfriend. There was a history of domestic violence and the last known communication was a postcard sent from her from California. Her husband never claimed her body nor notified the family. 

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This pow wow is entirely dedicated to raising awareness of this epidemic while creating community for all who have been touched by this crisis in any shape or form. Advocates are highly encouraged to come, educate, and provide resources to the entire community. It's also a place of healing and remembering all the MMIR taken too soon from us. It is a call to action to demand justice through community engagement and organizing. Without justice, there is no healing...