The murder rate of Native women in the United States is a staggering 10 times higher than the national average. For Rosalie Fish, a member of the Cowlitz tribe from Washington’s Muckleshoot Reservation, the epidemic is personal. In 2004, her aunt Alice Looney went missing. Her body was discovered more than a year later.<br /><br />Now, Fish advocates for justice for Native women as a track star. At her state meet, she ran to keep her aunt's memory alive by placing a red handprint over her face to represent Native women who have been victims of violence.<br /><br />"For me, being Native American and representing missing and murdered indigenous women and bringing awareness to the epidemic isn't a political statement, but rather just an aspect of my humanity and my identity," she said.
