[Content warning: sexual violence] The struggle over the Keystone XL pipeline sparked concerns about the future for Indigenous women in construction zones. The epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is a result of the multifaceted crises of extraction, climate impacts, and colonization that disproportionately affect Indigenous women. Sexual violence and murder rates are high among indigenous women, and there are direct ties to extraction movements. Angeline Cheek, a community advocate on the Fort Peck Reservation, finds large company-owned housing for oil workers to live temporarily to be a driving force. Tribal police, activists, and the Canadian government have found direct connections of increased sexual violence rates and the extractive sites. Tribal communities are already limited in what they can prosecute and how they can legally respond to crimes and local authorities are often underfunded, making it extremely difficult to obtain proper aid or justice. A suggestion is to hold companies themselves accountable for the violence of the individuals that cannot be brought to justice. The idea is that the company is responsible for public safety and their workers. Cheek and other Indigenous community leaders are working hard to ensure that Indigenous women are not left behind and that justice is brought to them.
