Native Americans make up less than 7% of Montana’s population, yet account for more than 25% of missing persons across the state. In late 2019, filmmaker Jon Decker began work on an independent documentary examining the issue of missing and murdered indigenous persons in Montana. Natives, especially young women, disappear or are murdered across the United States at alarming rates. The exact cause of this discrepancy is not entirely known due to a lack of proper documentation, policing, and resources. ‘They Are Gone’ explores the causes of disappearances across native communities in Montana, as well as examining legislation efforts, and ultimately documents the perspectives of those who have been hit the hardest by this epidemic.
Completed in 2021, ‘They Are Gone’ was awarded 2nd place in the documentary feature category at the Bigfork Film Festival, and was selected for the Bozeman International Film Festival, the Global Peace Festival and the Winterland Festival.