RED SHAWL DAY Honors #MMIW Who Are Disproportionately Affected and IGNORED

 

Photo by Marian Bitsui, BIE

Red Shawl Day  is a day of remembering and honoring all missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The color red is worn to draw attention to the horrible acts of violence that have disproportionately affected Indigenous communities, particularly women and children, and have been ignored for far too long. 

Led by Secretary Deb Haaland, we are leading a multi-agency effort to ensure that the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people is finally addressed. We are assisting Tribal communities with investigations and providing resources to prioritize these cases. #RedShawlDay

Merrick Garland Says U.S. has FAILED on #MMIW

From the Tribal Nations Summit

Attorney General Merrick Garland acknowledges that Department of Justice has "failed to meet the crisis of #MMIW."

“We acknowledge that our country has historically failed to meet the crisis of missing or murdered indigenous people with the urgency and resources it demands. We also recognize that solving this crisis requires that we work in partnership with one another.”

Well said General.  Let's keep the issue on the front burner.

UPDATE: Media Rushes to Air WHITE WOMAN IN JEOPARDY STORY in Gabby Petito Case. MMIWG GET NOTHING IN COMPARISON .

FIRST, Let me say, I pray that Gabby Petito's body is found soon and the perpetrator is brought to justice (yeah, we know who did it)

Gabby Petito

My next wish is that our INDIGENOUS Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Aunties abductions and murders would get the same news coverage.  

Please read articles on the differences in press  coverage linked in this story.

No missing Native women get this type of coverage. The recent DATELINE piece on one missing Native woman was from a years old murder.   Mollie Tibbet's murder coverage was IMMEDIATELY a National story.

Why are white women valued so much by our media over others?  Is it deliberate racism? Or simply ingrained that women of color are worth less?

The comments are open
UPDATE:  FBI announces they have found a body in WY consistent with what they know of Gabby.  PRESSURE works.  Again, I wish they would put this kind of pressure for all our #MMIW who deserve justice, and to be found.  FBI STATEMENT

Dateline NBC DISCOVERS MISSING and Murdered Indigenous Women. WATCH Carla Yellow Bird's Story

 

Native Americans from all over should set their DVR's and plan to watch tonight's episode of DATELINE NBC (See trailer at link). Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will be featured for a bit.
CARLA YELLOW BIRD's abduction will be told.   #MMIW has gone mostly unnoticed, mostly unreported in the national media. 

The Secrets of Spirit Lake' will follow Lissa Yellow Bird, whose amateur sleuthing exposed cracks in law enforcement's investigation into her niece's disappearance in 2016

PLEASE watch the trailer at the link above and share.  IF WE DRIVE RATINGS, they will do MORE STORIES.

We've had stories on #MMIW and #MMIWG here
SAVANNAH's ACT
Biden Don't Erase Trump's #MMIW Legacy  and MO)RE

Kozee Decorah's MURDER by Boyfriend
Savanna's Act addresses the issue
MISSING/MURDERED
White Women in Jep  Gets all the media. No room for stories about Native women?
Nooksack Stalking of Native Woman  is how it starts
FOX NEWS leads with MISSING WHITE WOMAN
And take a look at this website:  Justice For Native Women

President Biden PLEASE Do Not IGNORE #MMIW As You ERASE Donald Trump's Legacy

 Dear Mr. President, we know you are looking to erase all that Trump did as President, but please, do not end the TASK FORCE on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.  In fact, make it work better.

From a July 2020 post:
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center, there are more than 1400 unresolved American Indian and Alaska Native missing person cases in the U.S. Of that, 136 cases are in Minnesota.

To address this crisis, President Trump signed Executive Order 13898 on November 26, 2019.

Original Pechanga Blog: #1 Post of 2020 on MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN

This post linked below on #MMIW and #MMIWG is the #1 post on Original Pechanga Blog for 2020.  It has over 827,000 page views, thanks to  many of you.  Your sharing means that the  disgrace of what's happened to our Sisters, Mothers, daughters, is being seen throughout  social media.

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Sponsors POWERFUL Message on Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women

 Please, watch, and share this commercial shown on local Los Angeles news today.  THANK YOU SAN MANUEL.

Read more on the #MMIW issue here

Please read the articles at the links below:
Kozee Decorah's MURDER by Boyfriend
Savanna's Act addresses the issue
MISSING/MURDERED
White Women in Jep  Gets all the media. No room for stories about Native women?
Nooksack Stalking of Native Woman  is how it starts
FOX NEWS leads with MISSING WHITE WOMAN
And take a look at this website:  Justice For Native Women

WEEKS LATE, The Report to the President on LADY JUSTICE Has been Released After INDIANZ Questioned Its Whereabouts

 LADY JUSTICE REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT  was due Nov. 26 here it is. Is it just me, or does it seem like only.....FLUFF?

The Trump administration is holding an "off the record" call to discuss the Operation Lady Justice report that was due November 26. 

The call is taking place a day after Indianz asked about the missing #MMIW report, which has not been publicly released.

President Trump SIGNS SAVANNA's ACT! And the Not Invisible Act IT IS NOW LAW

Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding the Signing of Savanna’s Act and the Not Invisible Act

President Donald J. Trump was the first president to formally recognize the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Native Americans, when he issued a Proclamation in May of 2019 drawing attention to this issue. Today, he proudly signed into law S. 227, Savanna’s Act, which directs the Department of Justice to develop law enforcement protocols to address the issue, and S. 982, the Not Invisible Act of 2019, which directs the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice to establish a joint commission on violent crime within and against the Native American community. These two bills reinforce many actions the President has already undertaken to fulfill his promise that Missing and Murdered Native Americans are no longer forgotten.

 One study found that Native American women in certain tribal communities are ten times more likely to be murdered than the average American.

Savanna's Act Passes House on to President Trump for Signature

GREAT NEWS! On to President Trump #MMIW 

The legislation is named for Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year-old member of the Spirit Lake Tribe of North Dakota murdered in 2017. The Committee reported, “While Savanna’s tragic death became widespread news, many other Native Americans go missing or are murdered each year.” However, DOJ and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) told the Committee that many of those cases go unreported or unresolved.

Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed Savanna’s Act, legislation he cosponsored that requires reporting on missing and murdered Native Americans. The bill, which is named for Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind from North Dakota who was tragically murdered in 2017, also directs the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to consult with Indian Tribes while developing national law enforcement guidelines.  #MMIW

ONLY 9% of Murders of Indigenous Women SOLVED in CA vs. 60% of Greater Population

 

Great for Native America that the mainstream media has "discovered" the #MMIW and #MMIWG issue.  Is that something that Trump's new task force can credit?

There are more indigenous people in California than any other state in the U.S., with 700,000 Native Americans calling the state home. According to the report, only nine percent of murders of indigenous women in the state have ever been solved, compared to 60% in the greater population, meaning homicides of Native American women in the region are around seven times less likely to be solved than the murders of all other victims.

Read the SFGATE article here  and READ the FULL REPORT here

Trump Administration Establishes the First Cold Case Task Force Office for Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives

 #MMIW FINALLY gets some attention where the media has ignored the thousands of MISSING and MURDERED Indian Women and girls.

Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt, Senior Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Tara Katuk Sweeney established the first of seven offices dedicated to solving cold cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Need More Than ONE DAY of Awareness

ONE DAY IS NOT ENOUGH, PLEASE SHARE #MMIWG  Missing Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls get little national press.

UPDATED to add this new news on legislation from Sen. Mike Crapo:
While recognizing information on the number of missing Native Americans in the United States is limited, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs included these alarming statistics in a report on S. 227, Savanna’s Act. The legislation is named for Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year-old member of the Spirit Lake Tribe of North Dakota murdered in 2017. The Committee reported, “While Savanna’s tragic death became widespread news, many other Native Americans go missing or are murdered each year.” However, DOJ and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) told the Committee that many of those cases go unreported or unresolved.

Tribal and Administration witnesses also informed the Committee that the increased coordination and communication between law enforcement agencies outlined in S. 227 would improve the response to cases of missing or murdered American Indian and Alaska Natives. I co-sponsored Savanna’s Act to improve response to cases involving missing or murdered Native Americans:

The bipartisan legislation would direct the DOJ to formulate new guidelines for addressing and reporting cases involving missing and murdered Native Americans;

Tribal access to federal crime information databases would be improved; and

Certain federal agencies would be required to seek recommendations from Tribes on enhancing the safety of Native women.   
Read his full report on the legislation here


Please read the articles at the links below:
Kozee Decorah's MURDER by Boyfriend
Savanna's Act addresses the issue
MISSING/MURDERED
White Women in Jep  Gets all the media. No room for stories about Native women?
Nooksack Stalking of Native Woman  is how it starts
FOX NEWS leads with MISSING WHITE WOMAN
And take a look at this website:  Justice For Native Women

CNN on MIssing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Trump's Help

Courtesy CNN
Paula Castro-Stops

On a cloudy winter afternoon, a few dozen people stand outside the courthouse in Hardin, Montana, holding banners and signs bearing the photos of young Native American women. In below-freezing temperatures and against an abrasive wind, they read out the names of 24 women and girls they say have gone missing or been killed.

If you are on TWITTER, go to this tweet and REPLY and thank them for this story, and ASK they do one on tribal Disenrollment

No one care about our missing and murdered daughters...until now. Grieving Native American families shamed law enforcement and won support from ⁦@POTUS⁩ https://t.co/P0rIANZ6o6

— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) February 28, 2020

 

They read the names to remember and to honor, but also to shame local, state and federal officials whom they accuse of ignoring their women when perhaps they could have been helped.

Everyone in the group has had a loved one go missing or even found dead. And every one says there has been no help or explanation.   READ THE FULL STORY

Senate Indian Affairs Committee APPROVES SAVANNA'S ACT #MMIW Gains Support

Savanna LaFonataine-Greywind
Murdered at 22

A U.S. Senate committee has approved a bill aimed at addressing the high number of missing and murdered Native American women.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs approved Savanna's Act on Wednesday, sending it to the full Senate for consideration.

The measure would expand tribal access to federal crime databases and establish protocols for handling cases of missing and murdered Native Americans.

It also would require annual reports on the number of missing and murdered Native American women amid concerns that inadequate data collection has stifled efforts to measure the full scope of the problem.

The bill is named for 22-year-old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, who was slain in 2017 while eight months pregnant.

Its sponsor Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat, lost her bid for re-election last week.

A study released by a Native American nonprofit says numerous police departments in cities nationwide are not adequately identifying or reporting cases of missing and murdered indigenous women.