This degree project studies the portrayal and discourse concerning missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) through various forms of media coverage across Canada. In the depictions of victims of abduction and violent crime, media coverage of incidents involving Indigenous women and girls and other minorities often employs a lens of victim-blaming in the overall narrative. As part of this degree project, an ethnographic content analysis (ECA) and discourse analysis are undertaken to identify similar patterns among three forms of selected media. These include 1) the free press: articles published by Canada's principal news media agencies regarding missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls; 2) official government reporting: the National Inquiry's Final Report released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as well as official statistics released by the Government of Canada; and 3) television entertainment: the portrayal of minority victims captured through crime television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. One of the fundamental themes shared by the three selected forms of media is the messaging surrounding the significance of adhering to traditional and specific cultural conventions, which is discussed throughout the paper. 

The families and activists for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls have long argued that media outlets report less frequently when missing and murdered women are Indigenous, rather than when they are white. As such, whiteness theory is also analyzed and discussed based on the theory's supposition that white privilege is established as the 'standard' within Western culture, vis-à-vis the challenges faced by non-white groups across Canada. Likewise, this degree project studies how, Indigenous women who ultimately do adhere to the prescribed standards of "feminine purity," regardless of race, are held in higher regard than women who are perceived not to. Media coverage and official government responses across Canada have ranged from incorporating criticism against the victims into their reporting, to outright denial that this crisis exists. This degree project aims to study how various forms of media portray women and minorities, with a particular focus on MMIWG across Canada.