Are These 45+ Missing Montana Women Forgotten?

I'm guess most of you have heard of these names:

Natollee Holloway
Gabby Petito
Lacy Peterson

All are either missing or were missing and murdered. The news outlets made sure the entire nation was looking for them. Hour and hours of endless searching in hopes of helping the family find answers. In some cases, simply looking for closure.

With unfortunate endings, answers were found and the communities were able to grieve and rest.

Now I am going to ask if you know these these names:

Jermain Charlo
Ashley Loring
Sterling Kellum
Ivy Leinen
Shawna Blackwolf

This list of five names is not even a fraction of the actual number of missing indigenous women in Montana. Did you know any of their names? Jermain Charlo has been missing since this year from the Missoula area.

On average, Indigenous people are four times as likely to go missing in Montana according to the Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Reporting Portal created by the Blackfeet Community College. -Montana Public Radio

OXYGEN CHANNEL "MURDERED AND MISSING IN MONTANA"

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There are an abundant amount of reason that indigenous women go missing and the public is "slightly" informed. One can stipulate and make their own opinions as to why the search for missing indigenous women is not taken to the extremes that a missing "young white woman" receives.

Law enforcement tends to turn a blind eye, fail to take the report seriously, and do little to assist. The media rarely picks up on the story and if they do, there is normally a negative spin on the story making the victim seem at fault. - Native Hope

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According to the Montana Department of Justice:

The result of searches from law enforcement records, state and national databases, media coverage, social media and accounts from community and family members indicated 506 unique cases of MMIW across 71 select cities. 128 were missing, 280 were murdered, 98 were listed as unknown status, and an additional 153 cases were not present within law enforcement records. Montana was the fifth highest state with number of total cases (41). -dojmt

There has got to be some form of action taken to make sure missing indigenous women are being reported, searched for, followed up with, and efforts made to reservations nationwide, to put a stop to the growing number of missing and murdered women.

There shouldn't be a separate category stating this woman is "indigenous". We don't see public forums for "missing white women". We want equality, that includes the search for missing people nationwide.

It's time to recognize names of missing women, indigenous or not.

cc: Montana Public Radio, Native Hope, Montana Department Of Justice

Montana's 7 Poorest Cities Ranked

For many Montanans, it's a struggle to make ends meet. With the high cost of housing, several locals have found themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to just getting by. Throw in the fact that prices are on the rise in almost every aspect of our lives and it's not too hard to see why so many Montanans are frustrated and are looking to leave The Treasure State.. Let's take a look at the state's 7 poorest cities according to Stacker.

Gallery Credit: Derek Wolf

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