Why We Wear Red on May 5th for MMIP Awareness Day

Today, Indian Country mourns, remembers, and demands action for Our Relatives.

The Crisis Facing Native Populations

May 5, 2026 marks Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day, and the data demands attention. Native women are murdered at rates more than 10 times the national average in some communities, and 1 in 3 Native women report being raped. Furthermore, 40% of women identified in sex trafficking cases are American Indian or Alaska Native. According to the IHS, homicide was the fifth leading cause of death for Native males and seventh for Native females ages 1–54 in 2019, with 45% of female homicides precipitated by intimate partner violence.

Federal Action Delivers Results in Indian Country

In FY25 alone, the FBI’s Indian Country program charged 1,260 individuals, made 1,123 arrests, recovered 304 weapons, and identified or located 458 child victims! Three years of Operation Not Forgotten produced 249 arrests, 235 charged, 109 convictions, and services for nearly 2,000 victims and family members. DOJ has a MMIP Regional Outreach Program, placing attorneys and coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide.

IHS Forensic Nursing and State Partnerships

IHS Acting Director Clayton Fulton tied his Muscogee Creek Nation experience to operations: “Working together matters. That’s what provided public safety in our community.” He shares at a recent hearing, 37 IHS facilities offer forensic exams by Native practitioners with 40+ hours of culturally competent training through Texas A&M’s Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing. And finally, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy proclaimed that “all Alaskans have the right to safety and justice,” noting Alaska Natives represent 47% of reported rape victims statewide.

Ellsworth, a Native owned small business and ISBEE-certified medical staffing partner, stands with Our Relatives and elders across Indian Country. Wear red today. Honor the missing. Demand justice.