OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Newhouse Introduces Resolution for National Day of Awareness on MMIW Crisis

Press Release

Date: May 5, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Women Indigenous Peoples Criminal Justice

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate May 5, 2021 as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. He was joined by Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Yvette Herrell (R-NM), David Joyce (R-OH), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Tom Cole (R-OK), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Ken Calvert (R-CA).

Click here to listen to Rep. Newhouse's remarks.

The resolution demonstrates the lawmakers' solidarity with the families and loved ones of missing and murdered indigenous women, and it calls on the people of the United States to commemorate the lives of American Indian and Alaska Native women whose cases are documented and undocumented in public records and the media.

Rep. Newhouse said, "While Native Americans make up 2% of our state's population, Native Women account for 7% of our state's reported missing women. There are currently 32 open cases of MMIW on or near the Yakama Nation reservation alone.

Despite these sad and staggering numbers in our community, the closest Cold Case Task Force Office is currently located in Billings, Montana. Establishing a Cold Case Task Force Office in Yakima is imperative if we want to keep moving forward in addressing this crisis."

He concluded, "We must continue to take up the banner for those who no longer are able to. They deserve answers, and I will continue working to deliver them."

Click here for the full text of the resolution.

Background:

In October 2020, President Trump signed two historic pieces of legislation -- Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act -- into law. Rep. Newhouse introduced Savanna's Act and strongly supported the Not Invisible Act to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW).

In March 2021, Rep. Newhouse called on the Biden Administration to prioritize addressing the MMIW crisis and renewed his 2020 call for a Cold Case Task Force Office in Yakima, Washington.

###


Source
arrow_upward