On Monday, May 5, the Department of Health and Human Services joined communities statewide in recognition of May 5 as Missing and Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. For decades, cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people have been under-reported, under-investigated, and remain unsolved throughout the United States.
Facts:
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- According to the department, more than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime
- Likewise, more than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native men have experienced violence.
- According to the CDC, non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native women experienced the second-highest rate of homicide in 2020.
- Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native men had the second-highest rate of homicide compared with males in all other racial and ethnic groups.
- In 2021, homicide rates among American Indian and Alaska Native people were nearly four times higher than homicide rates for non-Hispanic White people.
- In 2016, the US Department of Justice’s federal missing persons database had 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls. However, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System only logged 116 cases.
“We must remain committed to ending the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People,” said the Hon. Melissa Pope, chief judge of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Tribal Court, chief justice of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Tribal Court and member of the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board. “In addition to the full enactment of the laws addressing this crisis, we must commit the resources necessary for immediate and ongoing searches when Indigenous People go missing until they are found. We must also commit the resources to provide safety to victims while offering culturally honoring services to heal the trauma of survivors, support the families of the missing, and honor those who have been murdered while supporting the loved ones whose lives will be forever changed. Of crucial importance is the prosecution of those who murder and commit violence against Indigenous People. It is only through these combined efforts that Indigenous People will be safe from violence.”
