Missing

Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day here in the United States. I knew I wanted to interview a friend and HOKA teammate of mine, Verna Volker, in the month leading up to today as I processed the current events that had recently transpired - both in the running world and otherwise. But let’s back up a moment to provide some context to my scrambled brain.

Missing White Woman Syndrome. I first dove into this topic after observing the seemingly odd obsession with the Gabby Petito case that transpired last year. Millions of social media followers doing amateur sleuth work online with so much fanaticism that I almost embarrassingly found myself also refreshing news outlets for updates. Her name became a hashtag that garnered nearly a billion views on TikTok alone. In fact, a LifeTime made for television movie, titled The Gabby Petito Story, was recently released a week ago...just shy of a year following the discovery of Gabby’s remains. To write on the topic, I even have a sense of embarrassment - I’m half white, half Chinese-Japanese American. If something were to happen to me, would I fall into this category? Would I get the same amount of press coverage and swift law enforcement action? Am I drawn to exploring this topic because of the fact that I exist in both of these worlds? Why am I even asking myself these questions? These thoughts swirled in my mind as we all watched in horror last month as the violent story of Eliza Fletcher’s abduction and murder unfolded. It’s an extremely difficult topic to discuss and one that has so many more layers than I ever initially realized.

The term Missing White Woman Syndrome was coined by the late, barrier-breaking, Black PBS news anchor, Gwen Ifill - nearly two decades ago - and refers to the media’s propensity to report on cases involving missing white women while leaning away from reporting on missing people of color (that make up the bulk of missing persons lists in the United States). In a New York Times piece by Katie Robertson, published nearly a year ago to the day, she quotes Martin G. Reynolds, co-executive director of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education: “What I’m most concerned about is the amount of coverage, and if you look at newsrooms, the coverage decisions are made in places that continue to be disproportionately white. These cases tend to involve white, middle-class women. And that resonates with assignment editors and news organizations. The one area of diversity that has actually improved relatively well in news media is women, particularly white women, in leadership roles.” A step forward for women, but not necessarily all women. Progress does take time (and each step forward should be celebrated), but this lull of disproportionality has seemingly contributed to the media’s affinity towards zealously covering missing white women compared to people of color at a much attenuated rate.

My friend and Relay colleague, Carolyn Su, continues to express what I imagine was on the minds of many people of color, when the news of Eliza Fletcher’s abduction surfaced: “I’ve been wrestling with how to process what happened to Eliza Fletcher, as well as the response of the running world. How does one - as a female runner who is also Asian American - grieve and digest such a horrific crime, while also holding the fact that this is a reality that BIPOC women face every, single, day…yet remain unheard?” The thousands of content pieces, reels, stories that were put out, listing ways to remain safe as a woman out on a run - which are all extremely important, pertinent, and very much worthy of and warranting discussion - yet, as Carolyn stated, “women of color have been teaching, equipping, and advocating for safety and change for DECADES.”

In my quest to learn more about the disparities that surround this issue, I spoke with my aforementioned friend and teammate, Verna Volker, founder of Native Women Running and member of the Navajo Nation. In 2019, Verna partnered with Red Earth Running Company, a Native-owned running company based in Iowa, to create a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Virtual Run in order to raise awareness for the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women - an issue that is the third leading cause of death for Native women and affects them at a murder rate of ten times the national average. Verna’s organization has raised over $100,000 for MMIW organizations in the United States and Canada. Verna also has a partnership with Go-Guarded, a runner’s safety device company that supports MMIW.

Verna expressed, “It’s frustrating when I see white women get so much attention in this area, but at the same time, I am not surprised - it has always been this way. Thousands of our Native women/people go missing or murdered and most turn into cold cases, let alone get any news coverage. When Eliza went missing, the FBI showed up within eleven hours. When it comes to our Native people, the FBI can show up weeks later. I can’t imagine the pain that families of missing Native or people of color feel as they see this kind of coverage unfold for a situation so similar to that of their loved ones. Though there is frustration on my part with the lack of concern for women of color, I don’t give up and keep doing my part in giving safety ideas or tips on my social media account, Native Women Running. I make sure that I am discussing safety several times throughout the year. It’s become normal to me that when women of color go missing, there will be little to no coverage on their story.”

When asked how she holds space for someone like Eliza Fletcher, who endured deplorable violence, but also for the thousands of missing and murdered women that the world doesn’t know by name, Verna responded, “I am empathetic with all who go missing, but share the reality of our Native women with others as well. I often hesitate because there is always a backlash that I don’t have concern for those like Eliza Fletcher or Gabby Petito. That’s not true. I just simply want others to know that we matter as well.” Earlier this year, Native Women Running sent a team of athletes to run the Boston Marathon to bring awareness to MMIW.

I asked Verna, what can the running community do to become more educated on violence against Indigenous and BIPOC women? How can we engage more respectfully and well-informed on platforms like social media? She conveyed that participating in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Virtual Run, which takes place every May, is something that everyone can be a part of and make a difference with their participation. She also underscored the importance of following more women of color on social media in order to learn more about their work and perspectives.

Here are direct links to social media accounts of Native voices and those advocating for diversity in sport and the outdoors: Native Women Running, Verna Volker, Native Women's Wilderness, Rising Hearts, Grounded Pod with Dinée Dorame, Yatika Fields, Diverse We Run, Indigenous Trail, Jordan Daniel, Angel Tádídíín, Samantha Noyce, Shayla Manitowabi-Huebner, Rocío Villalobos, Joel Kennedy.

Native Women Running has also partnered with Lily Trotters compression socks, where 100% of the proceeds go to supporting NWR and their initiatives.