The Rhetoric of Disposability: Media Representations of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP)

• In Event: Media and Narratives on Punitiveness and Marginalization

Abstract

The disproportionate number of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) in the United States remains an ongoing crisis, yet media coverage of these cases is often sparse, dismissive, or framed in ways that obscure systemic accountability. This study critically examines how media outlets construct Indigenous people's disappearances through passive language, such as “vanished” or “disappeared,” erasing agency from perpetrators and state institutions. Using a critical discourse analysis of headlines, police statements, and news narratives, this research explores the ways in which media framing contributes to the structural invisibility of Indigenous victims. Drawing on settler necropolitics, this study argues that such linguistic choices function as a rhetorical tool of disposability, reinforcing the perception that Indigenous lives are ungrievable and outside the realm of state protection. Preliminary findings suggest that media narratives frequently depoliticize Indigenous people's disappearances, portraying them as isolated incidents rather than symptoms of colonial violence and systemic neglect. This analysis highlights the media’s role in shaping public perceptions of victimhood and justice, ultimately influencing policy responses and law enforcement priorities. By interrogating this framing, this study contributes to a broader understanding of how media discourse perpetuates the marginalization of Indigenous communities and their ongoing struggle for justice.

Author

• Chelsey Stull, Old Dominion University