Murder in Big Horn

The latest true crime docuseries from Showtime, tackles the disturbing trend of young Indigenous women disappearing in Big Horn County, Montana. Despite its important subject matter, it's all too easy for these stories to get lost in the crowded true crime landscape. However, "Murder in Big Horn" makes a compelling case for why we shouldn't ignore these disappearances and the larger systemic issues that allow them to happen.

The series takes a closer look at specific cases, including the deaths of Selena Not Afraid and Kaysera Stops Pretty Places, but it's not just a murder mystery. It's a commentary on a broken system that fails to provide safety nets for Indigenous women and doesn't take these cases seriously. Parents and friends of the missing girls offer heart-wrenching accounts of their loved ones' disappearances and the indifference they faced from law enforcement.

While the series could have benefited from more context, its strength lies in the personal accounts from those directly impacted by these tragedies. The pattern is clear: Indigenous young women are one of the country's most vulnerable populations and we must do more to protect them. "Murder in Big Horn" raises important questions about the role of journalists, law enforcement, and communities in addressing this issue. Before hitting play on the next true crime docuseries, take a moment to consider these questions and do right by the memory of Selena Not Afraid and the hundreds of girls like her.

I thought this documentary is very well done. It managed to provide cultural and historical information in a way that showed the lived experience of the indigenous people in general and specifically in that area. It also illuminated the relationship between the police and indigenous people historically and currently. Without that context, the documentary wouldn't have made as much sense.

The cops sure have a lot to answer for. The amount of people missing or murdered in the area is astounding. Though the police and medical examiner want to list all deaths as unknown or hypothermia. So many people dying of "hypothermia" in that area should be a health crisis for the state. But they are indigenous so government and police don't care. They do not interact with the families and do little to no investigation. They don't care about press pressure or community pressure. They are unbothered by the amount of death surrounding them.

Having recently moved "out West," I became aware of this disturbing phenomena and hoped this documentary would shed some light on why this was occurring. Unfortunately, after watching all 3 episodes, I'm no wiser than I was before - hence the average rating.

The documentary primarily focusses on several recent instances where very young indigenous women had suddenly disappeared and who are later discovered with no clear explanation given for their tragic deaths. The bulk of the discussion following these incidents is given to pure speculation from concerned family members and other interested parties over what might have happened with little factual information to support those theories.

This documentary does highlight a seemingly credible outlook suggesting that the various law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating these deaths do very little or may even be somewhat obstructive in trying to get answers, however, very little input is provided from any of those sources making this view seem a little one sided.

Frustratingly, obvious questions about the circumstances surrounding each case are never posed until the very end of the documentary when a journalist makes halfhearted attempt to find out who one of the girls was with on the night of her disappearance. Yet, even this attempt is ultimately unsuccessful leaving viewers with too many unanswered questions.

There's plenty of background information and justifiable finger pointing about the plight of native life on the reservations and the circumstances leading to the poor quality of life, but nothing that I believe most people aren't already aware of and nothing concrete that really explains why indigenous women are being targeted and by whom.

It would have been better to have less music playing when the people were taking. Unfortunately it was a very frustrating watch. They spoke very monotone and didn't enunciate which is their dialect and culture but it was difficult to follow with the hyper and sometimes overly loud music playing while they spoke.

Okay, now the overall story was well told and very compassionate. I could tell they cared about these people and wanted their story to be told. The native people deserved much better than they have been given. It's clear that these murders involve major corruption and deception. What is it going to take to change?