WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A moment of healing for families of missing and murdered indigenous women on Saturday. At UNCW’s Warwick Center a survivors panel was held as part of the 6th Annual MMIW Conference.
Family members grieving the loss of a loved one share their story, place white handprints on a red tipi, and write messages on a red dress, a widely recognized symbol of the movement.
Attendees also viewed a screening of the documentary “We Ride for Her,” about a motorcycle group that rides in remembrance of the murdered and missing.
MMIW NC Founder Dr. Crystal Cavalier said the survivors panel serves as a way for families to grieve and find support in their tribal community.
“It’s real important for families to be able to come together and heal and know that they’re not alone, but also know that there is a community uplifting them; and we do try to keep it private and we try to keep it safe for them so that they can be vulnerable,” she said.
These families far from alone. According to a National Institute of Justice report, four out of five indigenous women say they have experienced violence, and more than half have experienced sexual violence.
Another issue is that murdered indigenous women oftentimes aren’t identified as indigenous. Cavalier said she began MMIW NC to make up for that lack of data.
“And so, when I started to do research all across the state, I found out it was a problem. It was a gap in data, and so I was like we need a database,” she said.
Dr. Menaka Raguparan teaches criminology at UNCW and helped bring this year’s conference to the university.
“The objective of the MMIW movement, and the work I’m trying to do is to break that silence, right? So, the more people talk about it, that’s the way we are breaking the silence,” she said.
And as Cavalier puts it, breaking the silence can also help communities heal.
“The thing that we want to provide is hope. Like even though this dark situation that families are going through, there is still hope that we can come together as a community and heal. Because that’s what we have to do, is unite all communities and we have to be able to heal each other,” she said.