Representations of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in the Media, or Lack Thereof?

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) are not given the same media attention that missing and murdered white women receive. This lack of media attention and representation mistakenly obscures the prevalence of MMIWG. As such, media coverage can be used as a resource that can aid or hinder the search for MMIWG, and for this reason more research is needed. The purpose of this paper will examine how missing and murdered Indigenous women are represented in the media through an intersectional lens. Using content analysis, I analyze 50 news articles from 2017-2022 of MMIWG and white women from 5 different national news organizations. I expect to find that media coverage of MMIWG is disproportionately lower as compared to white women. For example, a report by the Urban Indian Health Institute (2018) found 5,712 MMIWG were recorded by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), but only 116 of these cases were recorded by the U.S. DOJ’s missing persons database. The anticipated results have implications for news organizations and policymakers, underscoring the need for community building amongst those working in these areas and Indigenous persons as the voices of those most affected should be amplified.

Author

• Meagan Kunitzer, University of Nebraska - Lincoln