SIGN-UP TODAY FOR A FREE SELF-DEFENSE CLASS!
“You can’t fight violence with violence, but when met with violence, it’s important to know how to defend yourself.”
– Souta Calling Last
Registration has now opened, and there are only 50 spaces available!
This September IV is hosting our annual MMIWarriors Retreat along the shore of Flathead Lake in Montana. As always, our event is open to Indigenous community members who have a passion for learning ways to self preserve, heal, and show up better in spaces where the work of MMIW & MMIP is being done. Registration is officially open and we’re excited to share some of the details for this upcoming gathering; a live musical performance by Black Belt Eagle Scout, Powwow Yoga session from the incredible Acosia Red Elk owner of 7GEN & Red Elk Studios, self defense training from Antoine Sandoval, and more!
This is a camping style event where attendees will be assigned to cabins and much of our time will be spent outdoors (weather permitting) so please bring your sleeping gear, good shoes, and appropriate clothing for cooler temperatures during the evening. Our agenda will be sent to attendees at the end of July, this event is free with all food provided. Stay locked-in to our social feeds for more details on the official 2025 MMIWarriors Retreat!
Thank you to the Return to the Heart Foundation for making this event possible by awarding us with the ‘Our Sisters are Sacred‘ grant. If you’d like to make a donation to our MMIWarriors Program you can do that here and mention ‘MMIWarriors’ in your note.
Join our grassroots community solution to the epidemic of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (#MMIWG)!
Indigenous people are a vital part of the ecosystem. Indigenous stewardship is often traditionally led by women, therefore, all sustainability efforts NEED the knowledge and participation of women. Help protect a sister, help protect the land, we are one.
Violence towards Indigenous people is the same as violence towards the land
Watch us on PBS Cronkite News:
Read about us in the news:
Photos and Proclamation of MMIW Awareness Day in Missoula (5/6/2021) – Read here
“Extra hugs and a shout out to Souta at Indigenous Vision who hiked the “M” in a ribbon skirt and moccasins to turn on the red lights!“
MMIWarriors primary goal is to create a blue-print model of our self defense workshops and retreats/camps that can be easily duplicated and offered for free across all Tribal Nations to bring together their own community members working and living through the MMIW/G2S MMIP crisis. By sharing what we’ve learned through our previous workshops and events, and by building our networking database of self defense instructors, personal safety coaches, sister organizations, and ally organizations and services, we want to ensure every Nation has access to the tools needed to not just ease the cycle of trauma, but prevent it.
The lived experience of Indigenous women who have encountered violence and trauma in their everyday lives (intergenerational, historically), is a stressor on not just the mental and physical state of our well-being but to our spirit as well. Compound that stressor with the heavy labor of organizing, attending, facilitating, MC-ing, and promoting MMIW/G2S Events, and you have an Indigenous person who is more susceptible to chronic pain, disease, and stress related illness. The nature of our existence as Indigenous women under our detrimental societal constructs of race and misogyny, and with the very real systemic oppression, leaves us in a perpetual state of stress.
Long term stress has been proven to lead to serious medical problems. A personal wellness plan with built-in periods of recovery and self-care can help Indigenous women manage the stress, acknowledge and move through trauma, and empower themselves to make healthy life changes. Every Indigenous woman we know, knows someone or has a family member who is missing, has been murdered, or experienced domestic abuse/intimate partner violence. Many of us are survivors ourselves. We may not be able to stop the violence of the world but we can prepare and learn how to protect and preserve ourselves and learn how to move through a traumatic experience in a healthy and culturally assisted way, whether it was experienced directly or through second hand/indirectly.
Listen to our podcast on MMIWG:
Support the #MMIWarriors movement by donating today!
Your tax-deductible donation provides self-defense classes for Indigenous women, girls, and LGBQT2S+ throughout Turtle Island.
INDIGENOUS VISION
501(c)(3) educational nonprofit
EIN # 47-4307849
Contact us
RESOURCES:
- READ THE REPORT FROM THE URBAN INDIAN HEALTH INSTITUTE – Click Here
- National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls – Click Here