From Ellie Finkelstein, Freedom United

I’m writing to invite i yenews readers to take part in an urgent event about a crisis too often ignored: the connection between human trafficking and the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Peoples (MMIW/P). 

Next week, on March 18, I’ll be joined by Brandie Raddadi—a member of Freedom United’s Board of Directors, founder of Native American Emergency Response Oregon, and a human trafficking survivor and expert. 

Brandie has invited a panel of MMIW/P advocates who will share their lived experiences, advocacy work, and insights into how the MMIW/P crisis and trafficking are deeply connected. 

Date: Wednesday March 18, 2026 

Time: 12:00 pm ET, 11:00 am CT, 16:00 GMT 

Where: Online 

Register now

Indigenous communities face disproportionately high rates of trafficking and violence in North America—yet these realities are overlooked and so remain a blind spot in policy and much of the anti-trafficking sector. 

At the same time, the US government is proactively obscuring the crisis. It has removed the Not One More report—a congressionally mandated document of systemic failures behind the MMIW/P crisis—from the Department of Justice website and has refused to reinstate it.  

The Department has cited the recent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) purge, despite the report being unrelated to DEI. The administration isn’t just reducing transparency about the failures behind the crisis facing Indigenous communities; it is also signaling that the crisis can be sidelined.

Reserve your spot

What does real accountability look like when governments endorse silence? And how do we confront the anti-trafficking sector’s blind spot and center Indigenous voices in the fight against exploitation?  Join us next week to find out.

Reserve your spot today for the chance to explore this very critical and salient conversation. 

In solidarity, 

Ellie and the team supporting the Freedom United community