Nevada Appeal Capitol Bureau
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, held a press conference Thursday praising the federal decision to form a commission to address the crisis of missing and murdered native women.
Nevada and Alaska have significant Native American populations and the Departments of Interior and Justice have announced a joint commission to deal with the issue.
“It will make an enormous difference in our efforts to address the epidemic of missing, murdered and trafficked native women,” said Cortez Masto. “It is so frustrating that, for so many years, there was no federal strategy in place to assist women, girls and families facing unspeakable violence and harm.”
Murkowski said too many families, “have faced unspeakable loss as native women have gone missing, murdered or trafficked and let down by the complex law enforcement system in place.” She called on the joint commission to provide solutions to an issue she described as pervasive.
They started the process last year by passing the Not Invisible Act that directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs to improve coordination of violent crime prevention and established the commission the two departments announced Thursday.
They also spearheaded passage of Savanna’s Act, named in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, requiring federal law enforcement to create standard guidelines on responding to violent crimes against native women.
They said more than one-third of American Indian women and Alaska Native women will experience sexual violence or assault in their lifetimes. Those women are also disproportionately likely to become victims of sex trafficking.
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