Nearly 60 per cent of the cases of missing and Murdered Native-American women are homicides, and 31 per cent involve girls 18 and younger, according to data analyzed by the Sovereign Bodies Institute. Nearly three-quarters of the cases had victims who were living within the foster care system when they went missing. The vast majority of cases in the U.S. remain unsolved. Advocates point to the lack of comprehensive state and federal data on missing and murdered Native Americans, as well as a general lack of awareness and poor record-keeping as reasons why so many cases go cold. Adverse relationships with non-Native law enforcement agencies only exacerbates the problem, and many worry that Native American persons will continue to suffer from these oversights.
