Cantwell Secures Commitment from Department of Justice to Visit Washington State to Better Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis
According to 2018 study, Seattle, Tacoma and Yakima County have some of the highest missing and murdered Indigenous cases in the U.S.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, at a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) hearing, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) secured a commitment from Allison Randall, the Principle Deputy Director of the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to visit the State of Washington to hear from the impacted communities, work with law enforcement, and help end the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
“Washington state has one of the highest numbers of murdered and missing Indigenous women… We've identified this problem, we want to do something about it, we've put some resources on the table, but I think we're now finding that the resources are not enough,” said Senator Cantwell.
Cantwell went on to ask Principle Deputy Director Randall if she would visit Washington state to better understand and address the crisis. To which Randall responded, “I would be honored to visit and sit with folks. The Department of Justice sees the need for really broad response to MMIP… It's also important that when we're talking about Tribal problems, that we are meeting them with Tribal solutions, and so consulting with the Tribes has got to be a really key part of making important and strategic decisions going forward.”
SCIA also announced the release of draft legislation of a tribal title aimed at improving the safety of Native women in Indian Country and Alaska Native Villages, developed with input from tribal stakeholders. Cantwell was instrumental in securing the original Tribal provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
A 2018 report by the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB) found 506 unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls nationwide. The report also found that Washington state had the second-highest number of cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the U.S. of the 71 urban areas studied, Seattle had the highest number of murdered Indigenous women, and Tacoma had the highest number of missing cases. The Washington State Patrol also released a report in 2018 that found Yakima Country had the highest number of missing and murdered indigenous women cases in the state.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly half of all Indigenous women in the United States have been raped, beaten, or stalked by an intimate partner; one in three will be raped in their lifetime; and on some reservations, women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than the national average.
In 2019, Senator Cantwell joined a group of 16 bipartisan, bicameral legislators calling on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an investigation on the crisis. Last month, the GAO released its findings, reiterating the rates of violence experienced by Indigenous women. It also called attention to missed implementation deadlines for Savanna’s Act and the Not Invisible Act of 2019.
In response to the report, Cantwell said, “The Federal government needs to step up its efforts to protect and support Native communities… The Department of Justice needs to work with law enforcement, states and Tribes to ensure every missing and murdered indigenous person is accounted for.”
In 2018, Cantwell joined the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB) to release its first report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in 71 urban areas throughout the United States. Shortly after the release of that report, Cantwell and her colleagues on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee voted to advance Savanna’s Act, which Cantwell co-sponsored. Cantwell fought for the law’s passage from its introduction until it finally became law in October 2020.
Video of Senator Cantwell at today’s hearing is available HERE, audio is available HERE, and transcript HERE.
A GAO report highlights page is available HERE, and the full GAO report is available HERE.
The letter calling for the GOA report is HERE.
Video of Senator Cantwell speaking at the release of the Seattle Indian Health Board’s report in 2018 is HERE.
Video of Senator Cantwell speaking in September 2020 after the House of Representatives passed Savanna’s Act is HERE and audio is HERE.
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