Over 5,000 Indigenous women have gone missing yet our broken legal system with white patriarchal law enforcement refuse to use any resources to protect these communities from any white domestic terrorists. You’d think after the Osage murders every law enforcement official would be on high alert for such dangerous predators. It is unconscionable.
Our single white son went to Bakkans Oil Rigs in North Dakota, the man camps grew to well over 40,000 mainly white men during the same time when many of these indigenous women went missing. Now these murderers are disbursed back around the country due to the collapse in oil prices.
Justice is too often missing for families in situation. I think they best they can hope for is to sue the pants off the "justice" system in Montana. I think that this is usually the only option available for them. It doesn't address the search for justice i.e. seeing the perpetrator charged, but at least they know that someone has been made to pay.
You'd think after a while that communities would get sick of paying out large sums for police and judicial incompetence or just plain neglect, but apparently not.
This is where I grew up. Thank you so much for shedding light on this story, it is so heartbreaking. I hope her family gets the peace they deserve. So much unpunished white supremacy. I thought it had been tempered but it’s just back in full light of day now. Montana is no longer a place I am attempting to get back to.
Unbelievable! They are truly treating the victim as the criminal. I'm enraged. Is there a fund for this woman's family? I'd like to contribute. THANK YOU for bringing this to the light of day.
Thank you for covering this. I have been saddened for years by the Lack of news coverage for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in the US and Canada.
Montana gave White not one, but two $50k bonds. I covered the courts for several years, generally when you are out on bond and are arrested for another crime, bond is revoked and back to jail you go.
Montana must have strange state laws.
Thank you for the high beam on this case. The LE in this story reminds me why there were so many of them attending Jan. 6 as participants.
Good job, Judd. Peace to her family and all others who have lost someone to hate and especially for those of missing indigenous women whose fate may never be known.
This is not the first time that I have heard these statistics on murders of indigenous women. It’s heartbreaking. I hope that Ms. Westwolf death receives the justice it deserves.
Thanks, Judd, for bringing this forward and alerting us to the indifference administered to Mika Westwolf's death. The continuing apathy toward missing BIPOC women and girls is evil.
James Lapotka has been exposed! Hopefully that will change things thanks to Judd and crew. Mika Westwolf and her family deserve better. I too have heard the stats on the murders of Indigenous women. Smh
Thank you Judd. I so appreciate you covering this story about Mika Westwood and the issue of white supremacy and indigenous women. The statistics on their deaths are shocking and heartbreaking. How can we help? Please do follow up.
We need an icon for “it’s good that you covered this terrible news.”
I agree. "Like" is not at all satisfactory in my opinion.
Over 5,000 Indigenous women have gone missing yet our broken legal system with white patriarchal law enforcement refuse to use any resources to protect these communities from any white domestic terrorists. You’d think after the Osage murders every law enforcement official would be on high alert for such dangerous predators. It is unconscionable.
Unfortunately, law enforcement usually is the monster in these cases.
Our single white son went to Bakkans Oil Rigs in North Dakota, the man camps grew to well over 40,000 mainly white men during the same time when many of these indigenous women went missing. Now these murderers are disbursed back around the country due to the collapse in oil prices.
The 2017 film Wind River is a good one on this topic.
Is anyone writing a "followup story" on the story you describe and the population of those man camps?
Never seen any story on this. As a paralegal I can see the direct correlation of these two confluences merging.
Looks like blogs picked it up but never msm. https://lawblogs.uc.edu/ihrlr/2021/05/28/pipeline-of-violence-the-oil-industry-and-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women/
Looks like when “Bakkan Oil and missing indigenous women” is googled evidence of foul play is pretty extensive.
What a sad, awful story. I hope that the family of Ms. Westwolf receives justice.
Justice is too often missing for families in situation. I think they best they can hope for is to sue the pants off the "justice" system in Montana. I think that this is usually the only option available for them. It doesn't address the search for justice i.e. seeing the perpetrator charged, but at least they know that someone has been made to pay.
You'd think after a while that communities would get sick of paying out large sums for police and judicial incompetence or just plain neglect, but apparently not.
When you can't afford to hire a lawyer, and it's not likely you'll find one that will take a case like this, then what?
Tribal police are all these people have, mostly. State police don't prioritize reservation cases.
This is where I grew up. Thank you so much for shedding light on this story, it is so heartbreaking. I hope her family gets the peace they deserve. So much unpunished white supremacy. I thought it had been tempered but it’s just back in full light of day now. Montana is no longer a place I am attempting to get back to.
Thank you for bringing attention to this important issue. No one else seems to care - either in the US or Canada.
Unbelievable! They are truly treating the victim as the criminal. I'm enraged. Is there a fund for this woman's family? I'd like to contribute. THANK YOU for bringing this to the light of day.
There is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mika-josephine-westeolf
Thank you for covering this. I have been saddened for years by the Lack of news coverage for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in the US and Canada.
Montana gave White not one, but two $50k bonds. I covered the courts for several years, generally when you are out on bond and are arrested for another crime, bond is revoked and back to jail you go.
Montana must have strange state laws.
Thank you for the high beam on this case. The LE in this story reminds me why there were so many of them attending Jan. 6 as participants.
Good job, Judd. Peace to her family and all others who have lost someone to hate and especially for those of missing indigenous women whose fate may never be known.
Until we make every person of equal value--none of us have value.
This is not the first time that I have heard these statistics on murders of indigenous women. It’s heartbreaking. I hope that Ms. Westwolf death receives the justice it deserves.
Thanks, Judd, for bringing this forward and alerting us to the indifference administered to Mika Westwolf's death. The continuing apathy toward missing BIPOC women and girls is evil.
This is so repulsive. OMG. Thank you for having the courage to keep covering it, it's a nightmare. What horrible human beings. Ugh.
Please continue to follow this story. You are doing good, needed work. Please let us know if there is a family fund for support.
There is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mika-josephine-westeolf
https://www.gofundme.com/f/mika-josephine-westeolf?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined
Let’s pray that your coverage of this awful event will bring enough attention that true justice is brought.
James Lapotka has been exposed! Hopefully that will change things thanks to Judd and crew. Mika Westwolf and her family deserve better. I too have heard the stats on the murders of Indigenous women. Smh
Thank you Judd. I so appreciate you covering this story about Mika Westwood and the issue of white supremacy and indigenous women. The statistics on their deaths are shocking and heartbreaking. How can we help? Please do follow up.
Thanks for this reporting. Please follow up. Lots of questions.