Stanton: 'Native American Women's Lives are on the Line'

Statement

Rep. Greg Stanton and the House Judiciary Committee today advanced two bills to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Savanna's Act directs the Department of Justice to create guidelines to collect accurate information on the number of missing Native women across all jurisdictions, not only on Tribal lands. And the Not Invisible Act aims to prevent Native women from going missing by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to designate an official to address the violence and establish a commission on reducing violence. The commission would include input from tribes, advocates, agencies, survivors of human trafficking, and family members of missing persons.

Stanton is a cosponsor of both bills and has used his role on the committee to push for wholistic solutions to the crisis.

"Native American women face a murder rate ten times higher than the national average, with eighty-four percent experiencing some form of violence in their lifetime," Stanton said. "We cannot allow more inaction on this issue, not when Native American women's lives are on the line."

In remarks during the committee's markup of the two bills, Stanton told the story of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year old member of the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota who was 8 months pregnant when she was kidnapped and murdered. Savanna's Act is named in her memory.

He also shared the story of a Native American Phoenix resident, Sarah, who went missing in Las Vegas in June 2019. Sarah's story--which ends with her reunion with her family--debunks the misconception that Native women only go missing or are murdered on Tribal land. It also highlights the additional struggles that families face dealing with multiple jurisdictions to find answers.

Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act earned unanimous support from the committee. They will next head to the House floor for consideration.

Video of Stanton's remarks can be found here. His remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to address two of the bills we're here to mark up today: Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act.

Native American women face a murder rate 10 times higher than the national average, with 84 percent experiencing some form of violence in their lifetime.

Today, we do not have a reliable way of knowing how many Native women go missing or are murdered every year because there is no dedicated federal database designed to collect and track this information.

These two bills take critical steps to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in a wholistic manner.

In August 2017, Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year old member of the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota was 8 months pregnant when she was kidnapped. When her body was eventually found in the Red River, it was revealed that her baby had been cut from her womb.

To honor her memory, former Senator Heitkamp introduced Savanna's Act to address the disproportionally high rates of violence Native American women experience.

The Senate passed Savanna's Act unanimously in December 2018, but it unfortunately did not move forward in the House. Lack of Congressional action led thirteen states, including Arizona, to proactively pass their own laws to address the crisis.

Now, nearly two years later, I am encouraged to see this committee finally considering Savanna's Act--which directs the Department of Justice to create guidelines to collect accurate information on the number of missing Native women across all jurisdictions, not just on Tribal lands.

While Savanna's Act addresses the lack of information collecting mechanisms when Native women are missing, the Not Invisible Act aims to prevent Native women from going missing in the first place.

It does so by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to designate an official to combat violence against Native people and establishes a commission on reducing violence by asking for input from tribes, advocates, agencies, survivors of human trafficking, and family members of missing persons.

What makes this crisis worse is that the lack of available information creates a misconception that Native women go missing or are murdered only on Tribal land.

This is totally false. A 2017 study by the Urban Indian Health Institute found that the majority of Native Americans and Alaska Native people now live in urban communities.

With permission from her family, I want to share Sarah's story--her name has been changed to protect her identity. Her story shows crimes against Native women do not necessarily stay within the borders of tribal lands.

Sarah, a Native American woman and Phoenix resident, went missing in Las Vegas in June 2019 after a weekend visit. Her family notified a Phoenix-based advocacy organization, and together, they began to reach out to Las Vegas hospitals and jails in hopes of finding her.

Sarah's mom contacted the Las Vegas Police Department's Missing Persons and Investigation Units, but in her words, they were quote "no help". It was not until the Phoenix Police Department got involved on the family's behalf that information was finally shared about Sarah. After days of searching she was eventually found in a hospital and returned home.

We're so fortunate that the Phoenix Police Department got involved and helped reunite Sarah with her family, but her story is unique. For too many other Native women, this is tragically not the case.

We must take these cases of crimes against Native American women seriously--regardless of where they reside--because we know that they are disproportionately affected by violence that spans beyond tribal lands. This violence is prevalent in our urban cities and towns.

Thankfully these bills address this issue with measures that affect all jurisdictions in the U.S.

I want to thank Congresswomen Norma Torres and Deb Haaland for introducing these bills. I also want to thank my colleague from Arizona, Congressman Gallego for his efforts on this front. As well as Arizona State Representative Jennifer Jermaine for being a champion for this issue at the state level.

I am a proud cosponsor of Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act and I hope these bills are swiftly brought to the House floor for a vote.

We cannot allow more inaction on this issue. Not when Native American women's lives are on the line. I yield back

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