Governor Proclaims Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 2022

WHEREAS, North Carolina is home to a population of more than 130,000 American Indians, the largest east of the Mississippi, and has eight historic tribes: Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of Saponi, Sappony, and Waccamaw-Siouan; in accordance with Chapter 71A-3 of North Carolina’s General Statutes; and

WHEREAS, studies show that American Indians and Alaska Natives are almost three times more likely to experience violent crimes and at least two times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes than other people; and

WHEREAS, the Violence Against Women Act, also known as VAWA, became federal law in 1994 and sought to expand judicial resources to combat violence against women and provide protection to American Indian women who are victims of violent abuse; and

WHEREAS, Title IX-Safety for Indian Women, part of the Violence Against Women Act, recognizes the disproportionate levels of violence against indigenous women; and

WHEREAS, according to a study conducted on behalf of the United States Department of Justice, in some tribal communities, indigenous women face murder rates that are roughly 10 times the national average; the National Institute of Justice estimates that 84 percent of indigenous women experience violence in their lifetime; and

WHEREAS, through the efforts of surviving families, the United States Senate, by resolution, first designated May 5, 2017, as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, calling people to commemorate the lives of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women; and

WHEREAS, to address this crisis Congress passed two laws in 2020, the Not Invisible Act of 2019 and Savanna’s Act which include requirements to increase governmental coordination as well as data collection and analysis on the number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls; and

WHEREAS, this is a national issue but also one impacting North Carolina; specifically, North Carolina has more than 90 unsolved cases of missing or murdered indigenous women and children dating back to 1994;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2022, as “DAY OF AWARENESS FOR MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.