‘A gesture of empathy’: Utah folk artist honors Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah folk artist Kate MacLeod released a new song in honor of the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, which falls annually on May 5.
MacLeod said the song, released today, April 23, and titled “The Woman You Will Never Know” is not a happy one. Rather, it speaks to the “horrors of lives being cut short often before they have had time to blossom.”
“It was born from empathy, grief, sorrow, and justified indignation. Not only is the murder rate on reservations 10 times higher than the national average for women, but murder is the third leading cause of death for Native women, with the victims ranging in age from infants to the elderly,” MacLeod said.
MacLeod explained that her interest in this issue comes from multiple sources.
“My own experiences as a woman navigating a historically misogynistic culture, my inclinations towards activism, living in the American West where many reservations exist, and from having survived my own experiences with abuse against women. Although my family line is not from the First Nations of the Western Hemisphere, I have roots in tribal cultures from other lands. I hope that this song is accepted as a gesture of empathy,” she said.
MacLeod said “The Woman You Will Never Know” was written on a Grand Canyon River Trip she went on in 2020, where she met a woman who worked with organizations dedicated to searching for missing indigenous women.
She said when she played the song for others before its release, they were moved by it.
“I think the last verse specifically to me speaks a lot. ‘If I could be here now, I might be someone who could save you somehow. I could be part of saving the world. But you will never know because I am the woman you will never know.’ And that speaks to the lost potential of the lives that are cut down,” she said.
MacLeod is a passionate musician, who first moved to Salt Lake City from the Washington D.C. area to study violin making.
She has always been interested in music and first started playing violin at a young age, later learning guitar and several other instruments, such as the fiddle and Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer.
She regularly donates her time and music to organizations dedicated to peace and social justice concerns, such as Adopt-a-Future, Peace Advocates for Native Dialogue and Organizing Support (Pandos), and the Entrata Institute.
READ NEXT: Draper City clears up ‘misperceptions’ on anniversary of homes sliding off cliff
MacLeod also teaches songwriting and fiddle workshops in schools, concert outreach programs, summer camps and music festivals, in addition to writing and performing her own music.
MacLeod is asking listeners to consider donating to organizations such as Native Hope, Pandos, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA or other local chapters near them.
MacLeod said she will be playing a few shows this summer. To stay updated on those dates and learn more about MacLeod, visit her website.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
