MMIW: Silent No More
Earth Feather Sovereign was just 14 years old, and she was an itty bitty thing. Standing just over five feet tall, she barely hit a hundred pounds on the scale. Still, when she walked into the party that night, she stuck out her chin and let them know *she* had arrived. The Portland house belonged to a friend of a friend, she wasn’t really sure who. But, between the bass-heavy beat of the music and the excited energy of the young people milling around, this ** felt like the place to be. Even though she was still in the dawn of her teenage years, Earth Feather already had plenty of experience with booze, and not just to liven-up a party. She’d learned the hard way that liquor could soothe a tortured heart, at least temporarily. So, just like so many other nights, she grabbed a bottle. There were a lot of familiar faces at this house party, but a lot of strangers, too. And, when Earth-Feather went down to the hall to use the bathroom, she wasn’t alone. A group of young men grabbed her and refused to let her go. She was kidnapped, raped and held as a slave. It’s a sickening story that’s all too familiar for so many young Indigenous women all over the nation. But now, new laws and new efforts are being made to stop the cycle and find justice for the families of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women from the Pacific Northwest and around the country. If you are a family member of a missing person and would like their photo to be included on the Washington State Patrol Missing Person’s website, please contact: Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit mupu@wsp.wa.gov (800) 543-5678 Or the WSP Tribal Liaisons Patti Gosch Dawn Pullin patti.gosch@wsp.wa.gov dawn.pullin@wsp.wa.gov (360) 280-0567 (360) 890-0150 Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/scene-of-the-crime699/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy a Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy