ORCID

0009-0004-7651-0725

Keywords

Indigenous, Native American, MMIR, social movements, advocacy, epistemic resistance

Subject Categories

Criminology and Criminal Justice | Indigenous Education | Sociology

Abstract

Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island experience disproportionately high rates of violence and homicide compared to other racial groups. Rooted in coloniality and sustained by Western institutions, this epidemic is recognized as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) crisis. In response, Indigenous women have mobilized the MMIR Movement to raise awareness and advocate for institutional change. Although scholarship on MMIR has expanded, limited research has explored the experiences of MMIR advocates. This study interrogates the institutional landscapes that shape MMIR advocacy and explores the resistance strategies advocates employ to address the crisis. Using reflexive thematic analysis, this study examines semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 MMIR advocates. Findings reveal three primary institutional domains that shape MMIR advocacy: the legal system, media, and institutions of knowledge production. Within legal systems, advocates reported supportive and obstructive interactions with legal actors, which facilitated and constrained pathways to justice. Advocates characterized MMIR legislation as performative, suggesting that it conveys political remediation yet does little to address the crisis. Advocates recommended cross-deputizing police, legal reform, and increased interjurisdictional collaboration. Within media, advocates highlighted how missing White woman syndrome and symbolic annihilation limit the visibility of MMIR and reinforce racialized hierarchies of victimhood. Advocates described social media as a paradoxical terrain that fosters visibility, mobilization, and community engagement while also enabling disinformation and exploitation. In academia, advocates described experiences of epistemicide through the devaluation of Indigenous Knowledges, assimilation into Western epistemologies, and chronic underfunding of MMIR research. Indigenous women articulated complex insider–outsider positionalities that enabled and constrained their efforts. Advocates engaged in epistemic resistance through resilience-centered research, community-building initiatives, restoring matriarchal frameworks, and artistic expression. By centering the voices of MMIR advocates, this study illuminates the institutional dimensions of their labor and offers insights for developing anticolonial, culturally-grounded approaches to MMIR advocacy, research, and Indigenous futurity.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Carter, Shannon

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Format

PDF

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

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