The murder rate of Native women in the United States is a staggering 10 times higher than the national average. For Rosalie Fish, a member of the Cowlitz tribe from Washington’s Muckleshoot Reservation, the epidemic is personal. In 2004, her aunt Alice Looney went missing. Her body was discovered more than a year later.
Now, Fish advocates for justice for Native women as a track star. At her state meet, she ran to keep her aunt's memory alive by placing a red handprint over her face to represent Native women who have been victims of violence.
"For me, being Native American and representing missing and murdered indigenous women and bringing awareness to the epidemic isn't a political statement, but rather just an aspect of my humanity and my identity," she said.
