By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, CA: Some films are timely in a way that makes them eternal on your screens, as well as in your heart, and SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER is a movie that will break your heart but open your eyes at the same time. First consider the hashtag associated with this picture: #MMIW.
It stands for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (and girls). In this documentary it pertains to the Native Nations across the country. In April, there will a tribal summit which will address this issue among others.
But for now, it’s important to become familiar with the terms and scope of the crisis that has gone largely overlooked.
A trailer follows with resources to connect to the heart of the matter, and the families who’ve suffered in silence with a voice now coming to the fore.
Not just among the Sioux, Dine, Apache, but other communities in support of women and girls worldwide, who are the unsung main characters in this ongoing drama.
Fortunately, organizations like CSVANW are in action on this matter right now. They are the Coalition to STOP Violence Against Women, and girls under 18 specifically, who are among the most-trafficked.
CSVANW Staff pictured below, and a description of SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER follows before the clip.
Official 411 on SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER & Reviews
Somebody’s Daughter focuses on some of the higher-profile MMIW cases, some of which were raised
during the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs MMIW/MMIP hearing in December 2018. With historical points of reference, the victims’ and their families’ stories are told through the lens of the legal jurisdictional maze and socio-economic bondage that constricts Indian Country. For the first time on film, tribal leaders reveal the devastating roles of drug cartels and gangs in the MMIW crisis and the purpose of Somebody’s Daughter is to alert lawmakers and the public alike that the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women crisis exists and demands urgent action.
“Somebody’s Daughter is both hauntingly beautiful and emotionally devastating
and should be recognized as one of the most important documentaries made on
not only MMIW, but also on Indian Country in the twenty-first century.”
Native News Online
“Somebody’s Daughter increases awareness to create change.”
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
WATCH NOW, THEN TAKE ACTION
ICYMI – 2020 Presidential Forum – World Premiere
“Somebody’s Daughter” MMIW Documentary Premiere Highlights Native American 2020 Presidential Forum
Find additional information and reports here:
Toolkit
https://www.niwrc.org/sites/default/files/documents/Resources/Toolkit_MissingAndMurdered.pdf
MMIW Report on Women and Girls
Congressional Action
https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s1942/BILLS-115s1942es.pdf
More about the documentary, including ways to view and full bio on director RAIN, can be found here.
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