As a Navajo woman, Verna Volker sees running as a way to connect with her ancestors, and to heal from the generational and historical trauma suffered by Native people in the United States. Through Native Women Running, Verna is giving a voice to many of the issues that are crippling Native communities. A pressing issue, is the plight of missing and murdered Native Women. “When Native Women go missing or are murdered, those crimes are not often investigated. If the crime happens on tribal land, then it is handled by tribal law, but they have no jurisdiction over none Native people,” Verna said. In addition to NW, Verna is also using her voice to challenge the running industry on its lack of representation a BIPOC as a founding member of Running Industry Diversity Coalition.