This Lenten season the ELCA is encouraging congregations and individuals to educate themselves on the issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW).
In 2021, as a follow-up to the 2016 Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery, the ELCA Church council adopted the Declaration to American Indian and Alaska Native People by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It reads, in part:
"...We commit to advocacy for and being in solidarity with Tribal Nations, MMIWGR organizations, families, and friends who have gone missing or who have been murdered.
"Indigenous women and girls go missing at a much higher rate than any other group in the United States. Indigenous men also disappear at a higher rate than other males. There are 2 foci in this commitment. One is advocacy. Tribes, states, and the US government can and should pass legislation to coordinate work to alleviate the problem. The second focus is relational. Synod leaders can establish relationships with Tribal Nations, express solidarity, help with prevention, with search and rescue, with comforting the anxious and bereaved. Congregations can, as well."
May 5 is MMIW Awareness Day. We encourage you to learn about MMIW during Lent, 2024, and then join others in commemorating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's Day on May 5.
This new resource guide provides an extensive list of resources that you and your community can use throughout Lent and beyond.
Resources
In November 2022, hundreds gathered virtually and in-person for the annual Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium, hosted by the Pete & Cheryl Pero Center Intersectional Studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Participants learned more about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. View the presentations here. Watch Deacon Colleen Bernu’s sermon from the Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium.
On some reservations, Indian women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average.
Statement of Charles Addington, Deputy Bureau Director – Office Of Justice Services, Bureau Of Indian Affairs, United States Department Of The Interior – Before The House Committee On Natural Resources Subcommittee For Indigenous Peoples Of The United States Oversight Hearing “Reviewing The Trump Administration’s Approach To The MMIW Crisis” September 11, 2019.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Relatives (MMIWGR) -- a one-page introduction to the crisis and movement.
A guide for a candlelight prayer vigil to remember and honor the Indigenous women who have gone missing, been murdered or suffered from violence.
"This design represents the red dress symbol of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Movement and the phrase "No More Stolen Sisters."
