Mainstream media has gradually begun to recognize the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) epidemic across North America, but only after constant attention and pressure from Indigenous communities, advocates, and organization -  still, much needs to be addressed as there continues to be serious misrepresentation. In this week’s episode, we speak to advocate and athlete, Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel about the tremendous ripple effects of missing relatives, where the media continues to get it wrong, and the crippling economic tolls incurred by families as they are punished during periods of urgency and loss. As a marathon runner, we also speak with Jordan about the act of running and how it can meaningfully move energy in solidarity with the MMIWG2S movement. 

Our conversation highlights the importance of recognizing that the solution to this epidemic is not to invest in further policing, but to comprehensively understand how our current colonial systems inherently cause harm at every level. Through this acknowledgment, we can begin to define what safety actually looks like and how allies can contribute and support. Jordan powerfully calls us to build a present and future in which the protection and well-being of all communities who have been harmed by colonialism, capitalism, and extraction are at the very core of our organizing.

Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel is a citizen of Kul Wicasa Oyate (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe) as well as a passionate and devoted advocate nationally known for her grassroots organization for anti-pipelines/climate justice efforts, change the name/not your mascot, MMIWG2S and MMIP, and native youth initiatives. 

Jordan is the founder and organizer of Rising Hearts, an Indigenous-led grassroots group designed to elevate awareness of Indigenous issues, and the intersectionality of all movements impacting Brown, Black and Indigenous communities. Currently, she is using her running platform to help raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives by dedicating the miles she runs to a missing or murdered Indigenous person.

♫ The music featured in this episode is “Wolf Creek” by Lake Mary, “Runner” by Santiago Cordoba, “One or the Other” by Emily Ritz, and “Ships” by Arthur Moon.

Jordan’s Recommendations & Action Points

To learn more about MMIWG2S, follow and support the Sovereign Bodies Institute (SBI) and read these reports about this epidemic and how to become an ally:
Zuya Wicayuonihan - Honoring Warrior Women
MMIWG2 & MMIP Organizing Toolkit
To' Kee Skuy' Soo Ney-Wo-Chek'/ I Will See You Again in a Good Way (Progress Report on MMIWG2S people in Northern CA)

1. Watching these webinars from SBI that include content and support for the Two Spirit, LGBTQ+ non-binary community, voices and experiences of Indigenous Transgender Womxn, and research and data for the Two-Spirit, LGBTQ+ nonbinary community, and MMIW for Black Lives Matter in supporting their movement and the Say Her Name movement.

2. Follow and Support Urban Indian Health Institute and read the first-ever MMIWG report. 

3. Follow and support the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center: the VAWA Sovereignty Initiative.

4. CHANGE THE NAME/NOT YOUR MASCOT: Follow and support IllumiNatives, NDN Collective, Native Organizers Alliance (they also provide COVID relief support, representation, LAND BACK initiatives and more).

5. NO MORE PIPELINES / PROTECTING THE EARTH: Indigenous Environmental Network, Intersectional Environmentalists, International Indigenous Youth Council (And LA chapter), the Lakota People's Project, Honor the Earth, Seeding Sovereignty.

   
   

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