Signed in as:
Resource library
Transparency, accountability, and collective care are central to Urban Indigenous Collective’s work across all of our programs, including MMIWGT2S NYC+, the Indigenous Survivors Program, food sovereignty initiatives, mental health and wellness programming, and community-based research.
Our Resource Library brings together materials developed internally by Urban Indigenous Collective and resources made available through trusted partners and collaborators. These resources document community knowledge, data, research findings, lived experiences, and policy analysis that guide our work toward healing, safety, sovereignty, and well-being for Indigenous peoples living in urban and diasporic contexts.
Each publication is a collective record — a living archive of truth, resistance, resilience, and care — created to support community members, advocates, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers
Food Sovereignty Guide
Reports And Findings
Policy Briefs
Know Your Rights
ToolKits + Guides
Digital Safety
Glossary of Key Terms
Hello
Reports & Findings
At Urban Indigenous Collective, we believe that every act of kindness can make a difference. Join us in spreading kindness and making the world a better place for everyone.
MMIWGT2S NYC+ Annual Report (2023–2024)
Comprehensive overview of policy, data, and community findings from the past program year.
Freedom of Information (FOI) Findings Report (2023)
Analysis of 114 public-records requests across NY, NJ, and CT revealing systemic erasure in data collection.
East Coast MMIP Summit Reports (2023–2025)
Documentation of survivor testimony, community recommendations, and policy outcomes.
Landscape Analysis
UIC Annual Reports
Policy Briefs
Our policy briefs translate survivor testimony, data, and community research into actionable recommendations for policymakers and advocates.
Each brief centers Indigenous sovereignty, gender inclusivity, and survivor safety.
Toolkits + Guides
UIC toolkits support community members to make changes in their own lives.
Each toolkit centers key topics in Indigenous communities, including filing Freedom of Information Act requests, understanding our relationships with land and climate, and engaging with traditional foodways.
Freedom of Information (FOI) Toolkit
Learn how to file public-records requests, interpret agency denials, and advocate for Indigenous data sovereignty. View the entire Freedom of Information toolkit
Web of Living Relations Toolkit
In collaboration with Columbia’s Center for Science and Society, this toolkit explores how ecological violence, land theft, and climate degradation intersect with the MMIP crisis — bridging Indigenous studies, community knowledge, and climate justice. Learn more about the Web of Living Relations toolkit
Food Sovereignty Guide
Developed by Urban Indigenous Collective in collaboration with our Food Sovereignty Advisory Committee, this guide offers community-driven Indigenous knowledge on traditional foodways by region, seasonal wellness, and food-as-medicine practices. It is a collection of books that include teachings, recipes, land-based practices, and local food access resources created by and for Indigenous community members.
Glossary of Key Terms
Our Glossary of Key Terms and Legal Definitions supports deeper understanding of the language surrounding Indigenous rights, policy, and data justice.
It includes evolving definitions of:
- Indian as a Political Term
- Indian Country
- Indigenous vs. Native vs. AI/AN
- MMIWGT2S and MMIP
- Two-Spirit
Indian as a Political Term
The term “Indian” was created and imposed by colonizers. It did not exist before European contact. Today, it holds political rather than cultural meaning under U.S. federal law — defining a specific relationship between Indigenous nations and the United States through treaties and federal recognition.
Because of this, Indian continues to appear in legal and governmental contexts (e.g., Indian Health Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs).
UIC acknowledges that many Indigenous people reject or reclaim the term differently, and that non-Indigenous people should not use it outside of proper nouns or legal references.
Indian Country
In U.S. law, Indian Country refers to lands under tribal jurisdiction where state power is limited and tribal sovereignty applies.
However, UIC recognizes that all land on this continent is Indigenous land, regardless of federal designation.
We use Indian Country when referring to the legal jurisdictional framework — and Indigenous land when honoring the broader spiritual and relational truth that this entire hemisphere is Indigenous territory.
Indigenous vs. Native vs. American Indian / Alaska Native (AI/AN)
These terms are often used interchangeably but carry different histories and connotations.
Indigenous — The most inclusive term, referring to all original peoples of a place, regardless of colonial borders.
MMIWGT2S and MMIP
The acronym MMIWG stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls; the acronym exists because Indigenous women and girls go missing and are murdered at disproportionate rates compared to other racial groups in the United States.
There are other versions of this acronym that include different Indigenous relatives such as MMIP AND MMIWT2S. MMIP stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and is not specific to gender, and thereby includes all Indigenous people.
MMIWGT2S stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Trans, and Two-Spirit Folks; this acronym is inclusive to the queer relatives in Indigenous communities.
Two-Spirit
Two-Spirit is a term that refers to an Indigenous person who embodies both male and female characteristics. This could be applied to sexuality and/or gender expression. Two-Spirit is an umbrella term for queer Indigenous people, and may mean something distinct for each two-spirit person.
.png/:/cr=t:8.86%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:36.36%25/rs=w:1080,h:491,cg:true)
UIC Indigenous Community Wellness Services Survey
Take the UIC Indigenous Community Wellness Services Survey and tell us what you want to see in our future direct-care, traditional, and spiritual wellness programming!