Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.pdf
DAY OF AWARENESS FOR MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN
2024
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina joins a growing chorus of local, state, tribal, and federal governments spreading awareness of the troubling number of missing and murdered Indigenous persons across the nation, particularly women and girls; and
WHEREAS, the crimes committed against Indigenous women can be directly connected to domestic and other forms of violence, including sexual assault, human trafficking, and a history of childhood, intergenerational, and historic trauma; according to the United States Department of Justice, American Indian women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina is home to a population of more than 130,000 American Indians, the second largest American Indian population east of the Mississippi with eight historic tribes: the 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, North Carolina has four urban Indian organizations, including the Cumberland County Association for Indian People, Guilford Native American Association, Metrolina Native American Association, and the Triangle Native American Society; and
WHEREAS, over the past 60 years, North Carolina has had approximately 106 cases involving missing and murdered American Indians, with 57 percent of those being women and girls; the State of North Carolina recognizes that this issue is not isolated to tribal communities, affecting many non-tribal communities including both rural and urban areas of the state; and
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs was established in 1971 by the North Carolina General Assembly to advocate for local, regional, and national American Indian concerns and has taken steps to address the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women through its Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program; and
WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina affirms the inherent rights of American Indians and understands that addressing the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women is critically important when upholding human rights and ensuring justice for victims and their families;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2024, as a “DAY OF AWARENESS FOR MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.
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Roy Cooper
Governor
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this third day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.