Missing Crow/Nakota teen brings fire to troubling phenomenon
Selena Bell, aka Selena Not Afraid, went missing Jan. 1 after stopping at an I-90 rest stop between Billings and Hardin. Nearly three weeks of search has proved fruitless, reports the website Newser, but the disappearance has sparked fresh conversation regarding the disturbing phenomenon that leaves thousands of indigenous women in the U.S. missing or murdered each year. Last year, the FBI reported that 5,500 indigenous women went missing in the U.S., a number many feel is underreported, and the Associated Press reported that 26 percent of those missing were in Montana. Not Afraid was traveling to Hardin with friends after a New Year’s Eve Party and was last seen walking into a field at the rest stop. Mysteriously, she never returned, and the FBI and federal Bureau of Indian Affairs have joined state and local agencies in the investigation. Her aunt insists she was abducted by people in a passing car, according to Newser; tragically, the Crow and Nakota nations family is accustomed to hardship: Not Afraid’s brother was killed by police in Billings, her sister was fatally struck by a car and her other sister committing suicide at 11 years old.
