Nada Elsabagh
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Rebecca Irvine
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) / Other
Program:
Authors: Nada Elsabagh, Rebecca Irvine
Session: Session 7: 4:40 pm – 5:30 pm
Poster: 47
Abstract
Research within the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) movement is limited in quantity and lacking in quality. Most websites on the topic are either specific to certain activists, represent it as a subgroup to a more general Indigenous movement, or are simply outdated. A majority of research is inaccessible to the public as it is largely found in hard-to-find and restricted academic writings. The purpose of this project is to do our own research using these academic writings and websites and create a website and social media account of our own to make, what is essentially, a one stop shop on all things to do with the MMIWG2S movement. In this website we plan to showcase our research findings through sharing annotations, writing articles published on the website, and condensing information in easy to read pieces on social media. Through this we will attempt to find what is the most effective way to grow awareness of a traditionally misrepresented topic within North America, and Michigan specifically. These findings will not only allow individuals to learn more about an under-discussed issue in the United States, but also aid future researchers and average viewers alike in understanding the topic fully and readily. There will not be a traditional “results” portion of the project, it will instead be conclusions based on two focus groups whose purpose is to give feedback on the design and format of a social media account draft. These focus groups will be a group of Indigenous university students and a group of non-Indigenous university students. This project will be continuing after I leave the team, so by the end of my time there will not be official conclusions on the research. This focus group serves as a checkpoint of sorts on the work I have done thus far for the social media account.
