May 5th is designated by the Federal government as a day to honor Native Women who have gone missing or been murdered. This is important to recognize because there is a huge lack of awareness of missing women and their cases. The original day of honor was passed by Congress to honor Hanna Harris, Northern Cheyenne, who went missing and was found murdered on the Cheyenne Reservation in July 2013. Of the 2,306 reported missing Native American women’s cases “nearly 60 percent of the cases are homicides and 31 percent involve girls 18 and younger, according to data analyzed by the Sovereign Bodies Institute, a nonprofit, Indigenous-led research organization that began counting and mapping such missing and murdered cases over the past few years(abc News).”

Part of the reason this day was created was to push the government to devote the appropriate amount of time, resources, and people working on these cases. According to a Proclamation from The White House made on May 4th of 2021, President Biden stated:

 “My Administration is fully committed to working with Tribal Nations to address the disproportionately high number of missing or murdered Indigenous people, as well as increasing coordination to investigate and resolve these cases and ensure accountability.  I am further committed to addressing the underlying causes behind those numbers, including — among others — sexual violence, human trafficking, domestic violence, violent crime, systemic racism, economic disparities, and substance use and addiction(Biden, 2021)” 

Biden also made a huge impact on Native American women’s safety by stating:

“I am committed to building on the successes of the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by supporting the passage of the VAWA Reauthorization of 2021. Among other protections, this bill reaffirms inherent Tribal authority to prosecute certain non-Indian offenders — extending protections from domestic violence and dating violence to Native American victims of sexual violence, stalking, trafficking, child abuse, elder abuse, and assault against law enforcement or justice personnel when crimes are committed on Tribal territory(Biden, 2021).”

Our country is taking steps to better the lives and protection of Indigenous Americans that have gone overlooked for so long. We can help show our awareness by wearing red clothing or ribbon, donating or participating in an event with Indian Country Today or learning more about missing or murdered indigenous women, just like you did by reading this 🙂