Bill planned to address missing and murdered Native women

Thursday, October 11, 2018  

Two lawmakers in Nebraska are planning to introduce a bill to address missing and murdered Native women.

Sen. Tom Brewer, who is a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks will be sponsoring the bill, according to news reports. It will require law enforcement to track cases of missing Native women and to look at other instances of violence against Native women.

The bill, which is to be introduced at the Nebraska legislative session in early 2019, is modeled after a new state law in Washington. Tribes and urban Indian organizations there are being consulted on the first-ever study of missing Native women.

Nationally, members of Congress are seeking to do the same thing. A bill known as Savanna's Act, named for Savanna Marie Greywind, a young citizen of the Spirit Lake Nation who was brutally murdered last year, would require the Department of Justice to report, every year, on the " known statistics on missing and murdered Indian women in the United States."

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs took testimony on S.1942 on October 25, 2017. It has not yet been scheduled for a business meeting, the next step in the legislative process, before possible passage in the Senate.

H.R.6545, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2018, also includes provisions to address the crisis. The bill has not seen any movement in the Republican-controlled House. No Republicans have signed onto it either.

Nebraska Legislation Proposed To Investigate Violence Against Native Women (Lakota Country Times October 4, 2018)
Senators want to step up investigations of missing or abused Native women (The Lincoln Journal Star September 26, 2018)

Hearing addresses high rates of violence against Native women (October 4, 2018)
James Giago Davies: Native women aren't more likely to go missing (October 1, 2018)
'We need action': Native women seek solutions on Capitol Hill (September 20, 2018)
Tribes consulted on first-ever count of missing Native women (September 17, 2018)
Associated Press runs series on 'Missing in Indian Country' (September 5, 2018)
The missing and murdered: 'We as Native women are hunted' (August 27, 2018)
'Native women can't wait': Bill expands tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians (July 26, 2018)
White Mountain Apache man sentenced for death of 16-year-old girl (July 11, 2018)
'No more stolen sisters!': Events raise awareness of the missing and murdered (May 9, 2018)
Mary Annette Pember: Little data on missing and murdered Native women and girls (May 8, 2018)
Graham Lee Brewer: Change comes too slow for missing and murdered sisters (May 7, 2018)
Mary Annette Pember: New tool tracks missing and murdered indigenous women (May 1, 2018)
Senate declares May 5 as day of awareness for missing and murdered sisters (April 26, 2018)
Mary Annette Pember: Efforts grow for missing and murdered sisters (April 2, 2018)
Mary Annette Pember: Tribes take action to fight human trafficking (March 15, 2018)
Mary Annette Pember: Falling short on protecting Native women (March 12, 2018)
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Jacqueline Keeler: Pocahontas is a reminder of our missing and murdered sisters (December 4, 2017)
Tribal safety measures encounter little resistance from Department of Justice (October 26, 2017)
Sen. Heitkamp introduces bill to address 'epidemic' of missing and murdered Native women (October 5, 2017)