mission
Across the nation, Native Americans are facing a crisis—and no one is talking about it. MMIW stands for missing, murdered Indigenous women. Native women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than any other race of women in our country, says Jeremiah Wilber, co-founder of the nonprofit War Party Ranch. In 2016, the National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 cases of missing Native women and girls in the United States. The Department of Justice only logged 116 of those cases.
A red handprint covering the mouth has become the symbol of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. It stands for all the missing women and girls whose voices are not heard, and for the silence of media and law enforcement amidst the crisis. For Jeremiah, the silence is deafening. His mother was Mescalero Apache and she devoted much of her life to helping Native women escape abusive households. Fueled by the desire to follow in his mother’s footsteps, Jeremiah started War Party Movement to raise awareness for MMIW and offer a safe environment for all female survivors of abuse to be empowered through support, training, skills, and direct intervention.
AT WAR PARTY MOVEMENT,
we are about having "less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand" and are taking action in breaking cycles of abuse and fundamentally changing the way women are treated, across the country and particularly in Native communities, through our 501(c)3 non-profit, War Party Ranch.
War Party Ranch provides opportunities for women + girls to create working and life skills that foster independence and self reliance in all aspects of their lives. We are creating a community for these women focused in horsemanship, agriculture, hunting, firearms skills, self-defense, and health + wellness. Through education, sponsorship, and direct intervention we are continuously working to further this goal.
As a for-profit organization, War Party Movement raises funds through the sale of products and merchandise to donate back to War Party Ranch. Funds go directly towards expenses for running the ranch, feed and care for our horses, putting on skills training clinics, providing services for women in our program, and sponsorships of War Party Ranch cowgirls, athletes, and partners.
The sale of War Party Movement/War Party Ranch merchandise additionally helps to raise awareness for the cause -
YOU ARE THE MOVEMENT!
MISSING & MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN
Indigenous women and girls are being taken from us at an alarming rate. 4 out of 5 Native women will experience violence in their lifetimes. Nationwide, it is the third lading cause of death for Native women, with rates of murder being up to 10 times higher than they are for other ethnicities. In addition, Native women face higher rates of assault, staling, kidnapping, and trafficking.
As of 2016, the National Crime Information Center has reported 5,712 cases of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, but strikingly, the U.S Department of Justice missing persons database has only reported 116 cases. This is largely contributed to by a lack of communication between state, local federal and tribal law enforcement. Jurisdictional issues only further exacerbate the problem. Native women are most likely to be victimized by non-native perpetrators on native lands, and in these cases involving non-native perpetrators, tribal governments are not given jurisdictional authority to pursue justice.
The powerful image of a red handprint has become a symbol for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). It represents the missing sisters who's voices are not heard, the underreporting of crucial data and crimes against Native women, as well as the silence from media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis.
The cowgirls of War Party Ranch stand in solidarity with the thousands of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls.