If you’ve seen the news recently, been on TikTok, or have viewed any sort of media recently, then you’ve probably heard about the Gabby Petito case. Gabby was a 22-year-old girl who was murdered while on a cross-country hiking trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. There are lots of theories surrounding her death, and while no official suspects have been named, the cause of death was ruled strangulation. While Gabby’s case is extremely important and tragic, it’s sparked the realization that there are other women buried in the Grand Tetons whose stories have yet to be heard.
Gabby’s case was a media firestorm, and it drew crowds of volunteers looking to find her. Her body was eventually found in Wyoming, a place where 710 Native Americans have gone missing in the past decade. Another study by the Justice Department showed that Native women were murdered at a rate that was 10 times more than the national average. However, their stories do not draw the same attention compared to a white girl who went missing. It’s a painful reminder that the United States is still erasing the voices of the native people of this land. The same resources given to help find Gabby are simply not given to native women, and many of their murders go unsolved or are simply written off. It’s important that we notice this and understand that there are so many women like Gabby.
The mountains and Wyoming’s natural beauty create a distraction from the problems that plague Native Americans. We as a society need to work together to help amplify their voices. The unsolved cases deserve to be solved, and the families deserve to finally have some peace in knowing that someone finally cared enough about their daughter’s story.
Gabby’s case created a media firestorm and drew attention to how crucial social media can be in terms of a missing person case. Gabby’s name was trending on TikTok and Twitter, along with practically every other platform. Part of the reason her body was able to be found and laid to rest is due to this social media advantage. So, if we can do it for Gabby, we can do it for the native women still missing. By raising awareness and using media as a tool to do good, we can create change and help amplify the voices that have been silenced for so long.
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