BOW — On the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP), Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow), the only Native American currently serving in the Washington State Legislature, released a video addressing the crisis and calling for action.
“I ask you to join me in a special prayer for the missing and murdered Indigenous women of American Indians and Alaskan Natives,” said Lekanoff. “We are raising awareness to bring our governing bodies together to say this isn’t just a crisis in Indian Country. This is a crisis in our state, this is a crisis in our United States, and only together as governing bodies can we address this sweeping threat that is impacting every one of our communities.”
Lekanoff worked closely with Senator Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) to secure a $500,000 budget proviso to establish and convene a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force. The task force will be led by the Office of the Attorney General and comprised of representatives from tribal nations, the Legislature, the Governor’s office, law enforcement, and other expert stakeholders.
“The crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women urgently requires coordination at all levels of government,” said Dhingra. “We must stand together with the Native American community and the family and friends of the missing and murdered who have created this movement. I was proud to work with Rep. Lekanoff to fund the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force so that we can bring justice and help families and communities heal. This is a crucial step to make our society more responsive to the needs of victims and families.”
Lekanoff plans to dedicate her interim to developing additional policies that further addresses our MMIWP crisis. This work will be aided by the newly created task force which will produce two reports with findings, recommendations, and progress updates by August 1, 2022 and June 1, 2023. The task force will examine a wide range of issues relating to gender based violence against American Indian and Alaskan Native people including the systemic causes behind gender-based violence, data tracking and reporting practices, prosecutorial trends and practices, and barriers to providing more state resources. The task force will also make recommendations and identify best practices for data collection and reporting by tribal, local, and state law enforcement agencies as well as jurisdictional and data sharing issues on tribal reservation land and urban areas.
“I want to share my heartfelt thank you to Senator Dhingra, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, and Governor Jay Inslee for being strong allies and helping us push this critical policy forward,” said Lekanoff. “We have heard messages from across this great nation stating that we must develop better processes for data collection and management and integrate cultural teachings to better collaborate with survivors, families, tribal nations and all levels of law enforcement.”
Lekanoff will be participating in the Washington State Women’s Commission’s NO MORE STOLEN SISTERS panel discussion this evening. Joining her will be Patricia Whitefoot, President of the National Indian Education Association, Abigail Echo-Hawk, Director, Urban Indian Health Institute and Executive Vice President, Seattle Indian Health Board, and moderated by Commissioner Vicki Lowe of the Women’s Commission and American Indian Health Commission. This event begins at 4 pm and is free and open for the public to attend. No RSVP is necessary. The community conversation will be held remotely via Zoom video conference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85899987983?pwd=S3E4cDBVaFV3VC92RVczcHk2bVpNdz09.
“I am honored to join my sisters to fight the crisis of MMIWP,” said Lekanoff. “We have a powerful unified voice to work with local, state, federal and tribal governments to build policy, laws and programs that are fully funded and supported by all. Because even one person missing is too many.”
You can find Lekanoff’s statement here: https://youtu.be/hEuZGvCJlV4