Urgent appeal: Help for missing indigenous women on Capitol Hill

Urgent appeal: Help for missing indigenous women on Capitol Hill

in Washington D.C. Tribal Leader brought their voices on Wednesday to request justice for missing and murdered indigenous women. During a hearing of the house of the congress, the urgency of the situation was pointed out. Cheryl Horn, a member of Fort Belknap's Assinibein tribe, said: "This is a crisis, not an easy topic." A personal loss, since their two nieces were found dead, reinforced the urgency of their demands.

horn told about the difficulties associated with the search for investigations. Her words illustrated how much resistance from those affected often have to overcome: "We had to fight for an investigation, we had to fight for everything." This feeling of the struggle is shared by many of its fellow campaigners, who denounced the unequal attention, the missing indigenous women. Maulian Bryant, a member of the Penobscot Nation, found that when an indigenous woman disappears, there is no same attention and willingness to act as in white women.

Missing resources and legal gaps

The discussion also highlighted the challenges in the legal system, which affect the finding and justice for missing and murdered women. According to Abigail Echo-Hawk from the Pawnee Nation, the confused network of responsibilities makes criminals easier to switch between different reserves and communities and thus to escape the accountability. Tribal areas have their own laws and jurisdiction, which makes it difficult to persecute non -hosts.

tribal representatives to provide more resources and to say goodbye to laws that establish a national warning system for missing and endangered American indigenous people, Alaska native and indigenous people. An alarming statistics that underlines the urgency of this requirement comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: In 2021, the murder rate among American indigenous people and Alaska native was almost four times higher than in white people.

The willingness to cooperate was also felt among the legislators who explained their willingness to find cross -party solutions. During a second hearing, officials from authorities such as the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health commented on possible solutions that aim to fight the problem of the missing and murdered indigenous women at the national level. The need for immediate action has apparently grown, and it remains to be seen which measures will be taken in the near future.

The topic remains of central importance, since social pressure and sensitivity to the rights of indigenous peoples continue to increase. In order to learn more about the background and other developments, we recommend the reporting on cbs4indy.com