Please join the American Indian Science & Engineering Society’s film screening of Somebody’s Daughter during the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women Week of Action on Monday, May 2nd at 7 PM in 4-270.
Email wgs@mit.edu for accommodations. The film will have closed captions.
Somebody’s Daughter focuses on some of the higher-profile Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women (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.
This film was not made simply for 'awareness' or entertainment. It is about action, and getting the message to the people with the ability to make change.
After the film screening, we will be joined by film director Rain and Indigenous artist Nayana LaFond.
Rain wrote several MMIWG/MMIP policy proposals for the Biden-Harris Indigenous Policy Justice Subcommittee which are reflected in the President’s Executive Order.
On November 15, President Biden signed an Executive Order on “Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People.” Many of the recommendations were discussed by the President and film director Rain in 2020 and are highlighted in Somebody’s Daughter (1492-), which President Biden has supported.
Rain is currently in pre-production for the final documentary in his MMIWG trilogy, Ni Una Mas (Not One More), that will highlight how MMIWG is an existential threat to tribal people worldwide.
About Nayana LaFond
As a full time artist living and working in Massachusetts with her daughter, LaFond makes work in a variety of media on themes related to Cancer, Bone Marrow transplant, being a patient, immune suppression, covid 19, vulnerability, domestic violence, personal identity, Modern Indigenous rights and identity and current events. The primary medium is acrylic on canvas paintings however LaFond also dabbles in sculpture, installation, mixed media, photography and more. As a survivor of many things, Lafond’s work comes from a deeply personal space.
When paintings are sold, a donation is made to the NIWRC (National Indigenous Women's Resource Center).
“What brought me to NIWRC is their work to create effective change through legislation. Often I am asked what good it is to simply raise awareness and if it creates any change. Through working toward legislation organizations like NIWRC work toward creating effective change for Indigenous Communities all over North America." - Nayana LaFond
This event is made possible through the collaboration and support of the Women’s & Gender Studies Program as well as the Violence Prevention & Response team here at MIT.
For more information on the film: https://www.somebodysdaughter-mmiw.com/