MSU basketball joins forces with Indigenous advocates for a night of solidarity

This past Saturday, the MSU men’s basketball team played a heated game against the Idaho Vandals — but there was much more going on than just basketball. MSU basketball partnered with the MSU American Indian Council (AIC) and the MSU Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Student Association (MMIPSA). The goal of the evening was to raise awareness for the unrelenting number of Indigenous people who are missing and murdered every year — specifically women and young girls — often with minimal assistance from law enforcement in searching for lost loved ones. 

“This cause definitely has personal significance to me. I think that’s true for anyone who’s Native American, especially Native American women. Growing up on the reservation, I saw so many people go missing or be murdered just miles from my house, and nothing was done about it,” MSU senior Maleeya Knows His Gun, a current co-president of the MMIPSA said. “There wasn’t a lot of help from law enforcement; it was mostly just a community effort of finding our loved ones,” Knows His Gun said. 

The National Crime Information Center reported that in 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian women and girls, though the U.S. Department of Justice’s federal missing person database only logged 116 cases.

“We’ve had two native students on the basketball teams, and we [the MMIPSA] wanted to incorporate something from their culture to the game. We would like to branch out into other sports for sure, but I think it started with basketball because we have great advocates,” Knows His Gun said.

The men’s team sported red warm-ups in support of the cause and several spectators also wore red to demonstrate their solidarity. The red refers to the symbol of the No More Stolen Sisters movement, advocating for the end of violence against Native women, symbolized by a red hand over the mouth. “I’ve also heard that red is the color that spirits can see, so there’s a lot of symbolism there for sure,” Knows His Gun said. Additionally, she commented that “Hanna Harris was the first one I’d heard of on my reservation and [red] was her favorite color.”

Harris was one of many disappearances that spurred the No More Stolen Sisters movement.

During half-time, an inter-tribal style dance was performed. “For us, dancing is very healing so we wanted to bring the healing aspect to a hard topic,” Knows His Gun said.

By making their presence heard on campus, the MMIPSA seeks to provide awareness for the movement and educate students about how they can contribute. “We’re super open to anyone coming to our events, asking questions is a big thing — really just coming to learn,” Knows His Gun said. The MMIPSA will partner with the women’s basketball team this weekend against Northern Arizona University.