November 01, 2023

Kendra Kloster & Dr. Charlene Aqpik Apok: Founders of the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, & 2-Spirit (MMIWG2S) Alaska Working Group

51 minutes

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The Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit (MMWIG2S) Alaska Working Group was founded by today's guests Kendra Kloster and Dr. Charlene Aqpik Apok (who will be referred to by her Inupiaq name Aqpik throughout today’s interview). The MMWIG2S Alaska Working Group is an Indigenous-led consortium that is supported by the partner organizations: Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center, Alaska Native Justice Center, Alaska Native Heritage Center, Data for Indigenous Justice, and Native Movement. Kendra and Aqpik began meeting in 2018 and continue to meet weekly to share strategies to address the MMIWG2S crisis in our state. According to the National Institute of Justice, Native American women are more than twice as likely to experience violence than any other demographic. The numbers are higher in Alaska, but exact reliable data are lacking, and this is one of the issues we will be discussing today.

Links to websites:

1. Missing Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Alaska Working Group
2. Alaska Native Women's Resource Center

Link to Book

Alaska Native Women: Ending the Violence, Reclaiming a Sacred Status

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