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On The Record

Missing and murdered: An epidemic in the Indigenous community

By Melissa Gerr,
Maureen Harvie
Published May 4, 2023 at 10:05 AM EDT
Yasmine Wilson, (L) and Tiffany Jones, both women from the North Carolina Lumbee tribe, were murdered in East Baltimore. On Friday, May 5 at 4:30 pm there is a vigil to honor them. The event takes place at the corner of N. Rose and Orleans streets and is part of the National Day of Awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. Credit: Gregg Deal
Yasmine Wilson, (L) and Tiffany Jones, both women from the North Carolina Lumbee tribe, were murdered in East Baltimore. On Friday, May 5 at 4:30 pm there is a vigil to honor them. The event takes place at the corner of N. Rose and Orleans streets and is part of the National Day of Awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. Credit: Gregg Deal

American Indians are the smallest population in the US, yet sexual violence against Indigenous women is ten times the national average. Why?

Kerry Hawk Lessard of Native American Lifelines talks about the Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. A vigil will honor the memories of Tiffany Jones and Yasmine Wilson, whose mother, Saundra Waddell, still fights for her justice.

And Sophia Marjanovic, PhD, talks about the race-based federal laws that have fueled attitudes and dangerous actions toward Indigenous people.

Links: Vigil for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, Native American Lifelines, Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Baltimore American Indian Center.

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On The Record WYPR ProgramsOn the RecordAmerican Indianindigenous peopleMMIW
Melissa Gerr
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'
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Maureen Harvie
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.
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