Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2025, as the "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls".

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 381 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 381

     Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2025, as the 
 ``National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 
                              and Girls''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2025

Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr. Cole, Mr. Huffman, 
 Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Case, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Stanton, Mrs. 
Bice, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Pocan, and 
Ms. Schrier) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2025, as the 
 ``National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 
                              and Girls''.

Whereas, according to a 2016 study commissioned by the Department of Justice's 
        (DOJ) National Institute of Justice (NIJ), more than 4 in 5 (84.3 
        percent) American Indian and Alaska Native women experienced violence in 
        their lifetime, with 56.1 percent being a result of sexual violence and 
        55 percent being from intimate partner violence;
Whereas, according to 2017 data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        found homicide was the sixth-leading cause of death for American Indian 
        and Alaska Native women and girls under 44 years of age, with murder 
        rates more than 10 times the national average;
Whereas approximately 1,500 American Indian and Alaska Native missing persons 
        have been entered into the National Crime Information Center index 
        throughout the United States, and approximately 2,700 cases of murder 
        and nonnegligent homicide offenses have been reported to the Federal 
        Government's Uniform Crime Reporting Program;
Whereas, according to a 2020 joint study completed by the State of Hawai'i and 
        the Hawai'i State Commission on the Status of Women, 64 percent of human 
        trafficking victims in Hawai'i identified as at least part Native 
        Hawaiian;
Whereas the current local, State, and Federal funding available in Indian 
        country is inadequate to address the basic, emergency, and long-term 
        service needs of victims and negatively impacts Tribal governments' 
        ability to distribute lifesaving resources;
Whereas, in 2019, Operation Lady Justice was launched through Executive Order 
        13898 which established the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American 
        Indians and Alaska Natives aimed at mitigating the missing and murdered 
        Indigenous women (MMIW) crisis by improving the investigatory and 
        prosecutorial capabilities of Federal justice agencies and generating 
        new guidelines for data sharing and law enforcement responses;
Whereas, in 2020, Savanna's Act (Public Law 116-165) and the Not Invisible Act 
        (Public Law 116-166) were signed into law, which initiated a joint 
        commission between the Department of the Interior (DOI) and DOJ to 
        combat violent crime within Tribal communities and develop new law 
        enforcement protocols when investigating MMIW;
Whereas, in 2021, DOI created a Missing and Murdered Unit within its Bureau of 
        Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services to expand cross-departmental 
        and interagency collaboration for the purposes of investigating cases of 
        missing and murdered Indigenous people at the request of Tribal 
        leadership;
Whereas, in 2022, DOI fulfilled a provision in the Not Invisible Act requiring 
        the establishment of the Not Invisible Act Commission by filling 
        membership with law enforcement, Tribal leaders, Federal partners, 
        service providers, family members of MMIW, and survivors and held their 
        first meeting;
Whereas, in 2023, the Not Invisible Act Commission submitted recommendations to 
        the DOJ, DOI, and Congress to address the epidemic of missing persons 
        and the murder and trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Native 
        peoples;
Whereas, in response to the commission's recommendations, DOJ highlighted the 
        MMIW regional outreach program to aid the U.S. Attorney's Offices to 
        update Savanna's Act guidelines to provide further training and 
        technical assistance to State agencies and provide uniformity in 
        guidelines across jurisdictions;
Whereas, despite progress that has been made, in 2024, 5,614 Indigenous Women 
        and Girls were reported missing. Of these 5,614 reports, 4,179 victims 
        were under the age of 18. At the end of 2024, there were 628 active 
        missing person records;
Whereas, research data shows that national averages hide the extremely high 
        rates of murder against Indigenous women and girls present in some 
        counties comprised primarily of tribal land; and
Whereas, in previous years, May 5 has been designated as the day of remembrance 
        for ``Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls'' in honor of the 
        birth date of Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, who 
        was murdered after being reported missing by her family in Lame Deer, 
        Montana: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses support for the designation of a ``National 
        Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and 
        Girls'';
            (2) calls on the people of the United States and interested 
        groups to--
                    (A) commemorate the lives of missing and murdered 
                Indigenous women and girls whose cases are documented 
                and undocumented in public records and the media; and
                    (B) demonstrate solidarity with the families of 
                victims in light of those tragedies;
            (3) recommends that the Department of Justice's National 
        Institute of Justice commission a new study with focused data 
        on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls to ensure 
        up-to-date statistics are made public regarding the current 
        state of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls 
        crisis given 9 years have passed since their 2016 study was 
        published; and
            (4) recognizes that, despite the positive efforts made, 
        there is more work to be done to address this nationwide 
        crisis.
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