Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel recently ran the Boston Marathon with a very important hashtag written on her body. The purpose of the hashtag, MMIW, scrawled on Daniel? To call attention to “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womxn.”
The New York Times has reported that 84% of indigenous women have suffered from physical, sexual, or psychological violence in their lifetimes. 84%!
During each mile of the marathon, Daniel said a prayer for 26 indigenous women who are either missing or have been murdered. During the final .02 miles of the race, she prayed for Nyal Brings, her late grandfather who inspired her to run.
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Daniel’s mouth was also painted red during the marathon to symbolize the many indigenous women who have been silenced by violence.
Daniel said, “I felt so proud and so honored to be able to run this run for those 26 women and for my grandfather. None of it had anything to do with me. I just had to provide the body to run those miles. That was the very least that I could do.”
Daniel is a Kul Wičasa Lakota and is the founder of the Rising Hearts Coalition, a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting indigenous people. She also ran the marathon as a chaperone for Wings of America, an organization that empowers Native American runners and youth leaders.
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Regarding the MMIW hashtag she painted onto her body, Daniel said, “MMIW is the longest standing ‘Me Too’ movement that we’ve had since colonization, since 1492, and no one ever talks about that.” She added, “Action needs to be done, accountability needs to be there, and justice needs to happen for these families that are affected in our communities.”
Daniel was introduced to running by her late grandfather, a long distance runner at the University of South Dakota.
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Her goal is to bring her message to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Daniel said, “Any race that I do, I plan on doing research and finding more stolen sisters, stolen relatives that are part of this movement, which is heartbreaking in and of itself, but it’s to make sure that I’m giving them a platform and an opportunity to be voice and a presence, to be heard through my running.”
