Epstein victims deserve spotlight. So do 5,700 Native women and girls reported missing each year
By Matt K. LewisContributing writer
Nov. 28, 2025
"[C]aring about survivors means caring about exploitation, not just the victims of the most high-profile predator.
"The very same forces that failed Epstein’s victims continue to fail thousands of others.
"Here’s one example that probably didn’t come up over pumpkin pie: According to federal and tribal data, about 5,700 Native American girls are reported missing every year. (To put it in perspective, one of Epstein’s victims estimated she was' one story of a thousand,' but most estimates say 'dozens.' Whichever number you pick, the story is tragic.)
"The disappearances of Native American women — many of whom are presumed murdered, raped or trafficked — receive only a modicum of media attention, barely registering in public consciousness.
"Yet the crisis is so widespread that it has its own acronym — #MMIP, 'Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons.'
"Last November, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who heads the House Interior and Environment Subcommittee on Appropriations, wrote an op-ed pointing out that '40 percent of all victims of #SexTrafficking are identified as #AmericanIndian and #AlaskaNative women.' Forty percent. For context: Just 2.9% of people in the U.S. identify as Native.
"Simpson also noted that almost three-quarters of the Native American females who went missing in 2023 were children. Girls."
Read more:
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-11-28/missing-native-women-girls-epstein-cases
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/lSb3S
#HighwayOfTears #MMIWG #USPol #MMIW #ZorroRanch