The forced disappearance of Native people and their culture can be traced back to the Doctrine of Discovery, which gave European explorers the right to occupy lands not inhabited by Christians.
The impacts of colonization continue to be felt in the Native community today.
San Antonio-based nonprofit American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions (AIT-SCM) embarked on a campaign this month to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP).
Four in five Indigenous women have experienced some type of violence. More than 56 percent of them experience sexual violence. Around 5,712 Indigenous women have been reported missing as of 2016.
Maya Soto, AIT-SCM’s community engagement coordinator, said there is a lack of awareness about the disproportionate effect of violence against Native women.
“There is so much silence, not only from community members, from law enforcement officials, from government officials, but also from the media,” she said.
Sabrina San Miguel, AIT-SCM’s director of development and communications, said the issue affects more than just the Native community.
“It is a community safety issue,” she said. “These are your best friends, sisters, mothers that are going missing.”
The City of San Antonio recently declared May 5 as a Day of Awareness for MMIWP, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People.
AIT-SCM has also launched the San Antonio Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Coalition, a grassroots organizing body to advocate for awareness and justice across the region.
AIT-SCM has set a May 31 deadline to raise $10,000 dollars to support its Pīlam Tāp Tāi Initiative, which operates the MMIWP Coalition.
