Theoretical/Historical Section/Literature Review
The crisis of missing Native American women and children is deeply entrenched in historical and theoretical contexts, necessitating a comprehensive examination.
Historical Frameworks
To apprehend the roots of this crisis, we need to go back to historical frameworks like policies of forced assimilation and colonization. The impact of colonization, which entails dislocation and cultural erasure, has resulted in generational consequences for Native Americans. Nelson (2011) discusses historical injustices faced by Indian Americans. He addresses the lasting effects of colonization and forced assimilation on Native Americans. Nelson states that the harsh realities and challenges that were subjected to Native Americans by dominant Americans contributed to the missing Native American women and children. He explains the consequences of forced assimilation and discrimination on American Indian’s emotional and social health. Nelson states that discrimination and forced assimilation adversely affected Native Americans’ social and emotional health. The largely affected population includes women and children, causing their exploitation and disappearance from current societal structures. The author explains the effects of European colonization in the United States, highlighting that American Indians have been subjected to injustices and racism historically and even to date. Many were forced to leave their culture and adopt that of the whites. He argues that such injustices have led to the exploitation and missing of Native American women and children. Americans who refused to conform were removed or murdered. The dominant Americans wanted to get rid of the American Indians by destroying their tribal structures and replacing them with their own. This led to the disappearance and death of Native American women and children. (Nelson, 2011). Sociologist Patricia L. Riley, in her work “Broken Promises, “talks about the historical trajectory of treaty violations while shedding light on the systematic dismantling of the existence of the aboriginal societies.
Intersectionality in Vulnerability
In addressing the vulnеrability of marginalized communities, the intersectionality of gender, race, and socioeconomic status emerges as a central theme in sociological literature. The study by Findling et al. (2019) addresses the cross-cutting issues of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. The authors explain different ways in which intersecting factors of gender, race, and socioeconomic status lead to the vulnerability of Native American women and children. The author states that Native Americans report higher odds of racial discrimination than whites in the United States. Native Americans have been subjected to discrimination across many areas of life, including healthcare and courts. The authors add that having higher incomes does not protect Native Americans against discrimination in most areas of life. Native Americans have been subjected to harassment and torture, leading to increased incidents of death and missing Native American women and children (Findling et al., 2019). Drawing on Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, scholars such as Bell and Patricia Collins have contributed immensely to the understanding of how multiple forms of oppression intersect, adding to the challenges faced by individuals. They state that such challenges lead to exploitation and even death of Native Americans. In relation to the concept of Native American women and children, this intersectionality amplifies their vulnerability within societal structures (Keuchenius & Mügge, 2021). In the works of Sociologist Dorothy Roberts ‘Killing the Black Body,’ the text highlights ways in which intersecting oppressions led to the marginalization of black women (Roberts, 2014). However, while her concern is on a different demographic, the theoretical foundations of intersectionality can be applied to the experience of Native American women and children, underlining the importance of an all-inclusive perspective that accounts for the untwined nature of race, gender, and social class.
Legal Frameworks and Legislative Impact
Studying legislative elements of this crisis requires examining the sociological literature in the realm of law and society. Richards et al. (2022) provide details of how prevailing laws and policies favor or hinder efforts to address the crisis. The authors state that convoluted jurisdictional issues hinder seamless coordination among law enforcement agencies, causing gaps in investigations. They add that limited resources located to these cases, coupled with a lack of cultural sensitivity in law enforcement practices, further worsen the difficulties in obtaining justice for the Native Americans. In addition, the authors state that the inadequate coordination between federal, state, and tribal law enforcement contributes to a fragmented response to the cases. Such fragmentation causes delays and information gaps, affecting the thoroughness of investigations. The authors assert that disparities in resource allocation impede timely resolution of missing Native American women and children (Richards et al., 2022). Critical legal scholars such as Patricia J. Williams, in ‘The Alchemy of Race and Rights,’ examine how the legal structure may perpetuate or challenge systemic inequalities. Applying this framework for the particular example of missing Native American women and children allows us to see how these laws and policies interact with the social institutions either making the situation worse or creating opportunities for justice (Williams, 1991). Sociologist Michelle Alexander’s work, ‘The New Jim Crow,’ is very useful for comprehending how legal systems can use marginalization as a conduit to increase the prevalence of disparities. Though her focus is to the criminal justice system, the broader effects of systemic injustices resonate in the context of Native American communities leading to the urgency of exploring opportunities and legislative barriers (Alexander, 2016).
Grassroots Movements and Community-Based Initiatives
The role of community based initiatives and grassroots movements is a key theme in addressing the crisis of missing Native American women and children within sociological literature. Grassroots movement and community-based initiatives play an important role in addressing the challenges of missing Native American women and children. According to different scholars, specialized approaches and the community play a vital role in responding to cases affecting indigenous children. Clarke (2021) adds that indigenous families have experienced violence since colonization period. However, only recently did MMIP make national news headlines. This was after the indigenous families raised awareness of the issue surrounding missing persons and murder cases. (Clark, 2021). Community based initiatives have experienced growing media coverage raising a call of action from lawmakers at state and federal levels. The federal and state governments provide resources to support such movements to raise awareness on missing and murdered Native American women and children. Tribes draw on their cultural resources to protect Native American women and children from risks that can make them get murdered or go missing.Authors such as Frances Fox Piven, in collaboration with Richard A. Cloward has extensively studied the dynamics of social movements in works such as “Poor People’s Movements’ (Piven, & Cloward, 2012). The authors’ insights into the organizational strategies and challenges encountered by grassroots movements offers us a lens through which we could understand the agency and the resilience of communities mobilizing against systematic injustice.
References
Alexander, M. (2016). The New Jim Crow. Mouvements, 88(4), 59-64.
Clark, J. F. (2021). Help for missing American Indian and Alaska Native children. Dep’t of Just. J. Fed. L. & Prac., 69, 5.
Findling, M. G., Casey, L. S., Fryberg, S. A., Hafner, S., Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M.,… & Miller, C. (2019). Discrimination in the United States: experiences of Native Americans. Health Services Research, 54, 1431-1441.
Keuchenius, A., & Mügge, L. (2021). Intersectionality on the go: The diffusion of Black feminist knowledge across disciplinary and geographical borders. The British Journal of Sociology, 72(2), 360-378.
Nelson, T. (2011). Historical and contemporary American Indian injustices: The ensuing psychological effects.
Piven, F. F., & Cloward, R. (2012). Poor people’s movements: Why they succeed, how they fail. Vintage.
Roberts, D. (2014). Killing the black body: Race, reproduction, and the meaning of liberty. Vintage.
Richards, T. N., & Wright, E. M. (2022). A Descriptive Analysis of Missing and Murdered Native Women and Children in Nebraska, Barriers to Reporting and Investigation, and Recommendations for Improving Access to Justice, 2020-2021.
Williams, P. J. (1991). The Alchemy of Race and Rights: Diary of a Law Professor. In Legal Studies Forum (Vol. 15, No. 2).
write