Advocates rally for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Appleton

APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) - Advocates came together today both in Appleton and online to rally for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. It’s a movement that has been seeking recognition since 2018.

To spread awareness, red dress cut outs were placed around Houdini Plaza each one representing a lost woman. Families also shared stories from some of the worst days of their lives.

“My mothers case and my brothers case are just two of hundreds of thousands of cases just like there’s on turtle island. All their loved ones are still searching for their bodies, or searching for justice,” Alysse Arce, a MMIW family member, said.

After the gathering, people came together online to share their stories and make a call for action.

“The family members are speaking. They’re telling you right now, like this is what needs to be changed. Um, so it’s our job to stand with them,” Kristine Welch, a department of justice MMIW task force member said.

In 2020 Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul launched a task force for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women to develop proposals on solving the issue. Since then data, family impact and policy committees have been created.

Still, advocates say they have a long way to go to feel equal.

“This is not just my fight, or just indigenous peoples’ fight, but all our fights,” Arce said.

The department of justice reports that today Native American women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average

In Wisconsin, Missing and murdered indigenous women’s numbers are just as high,

Even though Native Americans make up less than 2% of the population.

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