Navajo Nation VP Delivers Prayer Before President Trump Signs Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Executive Order
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer and Second Lady Dottie Lizer joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, for the signing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Executive Order. U.S. Attorney Gen. William Barr, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, and other tribal leaders were also in attendance at the White House for the ceremony.
“This is another step forward for Indigenous nations throughout the country. I commend President Trump and his administration for recognizing the traumatic epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives. Throughout our tribal nations, we hear far too many stories of families, victims, and survivors so we need to keep our sacred women and children safe and protected,” said Vice President Lizer, who also had the honor of providing a prayer in the Oval Office moments prior to the signing of the executive order.
Barr announced the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Initiative on November 22, which will invest $1.5 million to hire specialized coordinators within the offices of U.S. Attorneys who will be tasked with developing protocols for a more coordinated response to violence against Indigenous people.
Tuesday’s executive order will launch “Operation Lady Justice,” a task force led by Attorney General Barr and Secretary Bernhardt to develop an aggressive, government-wide strategy to improve the safety of Native American communities. The order will also allow tribal and local law enforcement to seek assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Justice Department, who will conduct an in-depth review of federal databases to determine best practices for collecting data on missing and murdered Indigenous persons.
“Our Native American people experience violence at a higher rate than any other nationality in the country. The lack of reporting and investigation of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples needs to be taken seriously,” said Vice President Lizer. “The executive order gives hope to our tribal nations that justice is being sought and that there is a path for healing of our families, victims, and survivors.”
“The issue of missing and murdered Indigenous persons has not only affected families, but it impacts communities. As leaders, we must continue to advocate for safety and justice for Native women and children. Most importantly, we need to address efforts to restore balance, love, and harmony within Native homes and communities,” said Second Lady Lizer.
The murder rate is ten times higher than the national average for American Indian women, with 84-percent experiencing some form of violence during their lifetime. There is still no reliable way of knowing how many Native women go missing each year because the databases that hold statistics of these cases are outdated. Besides, issues have arisen due to the lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies.
President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Lizer also continue to support the Savanna’s Act, which aims to protect American Indian women, men, and children from violent crimes. The Senate moved forward with its version in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Committee earlier this week.
“The issues of Missing and murdered Indigenous women is a priority for the Nez-Lizer Administration. On behalf of the Navajo Nation, we extend our appreciation to the administration for taking this step to protect Indigenous women, children, and families. Much more needs to be done at every level of government to protect our people,” said President Nez.
Sec . 4 . Mission and Functions . (a) The Task Force shall:
(i) conduct appropriate consultations with tribal governments on the scope and nature of the issues regarding missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives;
(ii) develop model protocols and procedures to apply to new and unsolved cases of missing or murdered persons in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including best practices for:
(A) improving the way law enforcement investigators and prosecutors respond to the high volume of such cases, and to the investigative challenges that might be presented in cases involving female victims;
(B) collecting and sharing data among various jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies; and
(C) better use of existing criminal databases, such as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) including the National DNA Index System (NDIS);
(iii) establish a multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional team including representatives from tribal law enforcement and the Departments of Justice and the Interior to review cold cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives;
(iv) address the need for greater clarity concerning roles, authorities, and jurisdiction throughout the lifecycle of cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives by:
(A) developing and publishing best-practices guidance for use by Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement in cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, to include best practices related to communication with affected families from initiation of an investigation through case resolution or closure;
(B) facilitating formal agreements or arrangements among Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement to promote maximally cooperative, trauma-informed responses to cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives;
(C) developing and executing an education and outreach campaign for communities that are most affected by crime against American Indians and Alaska Natives to identify and reduce such crime; and
(D) developing, in partnership with NamUs, a public-awareness campaign to educate both rural and urban communities about the needs of affected families and resources that are both needed and available.
Sec . 5 . Reporting . (a) No later than 1 year after the date of this order, the Task Force shall develop and submit to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, a written report regarding the activities and accomplishments of the Task Force, the status of projects the Task Force has not yet completed, and specific recommendations for future action of the Task Force.
(b) No later than 2 years after the date of this order, the Task Force shall develop and submit to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, a final written report regarding the activities and accomplishments of the Task Force.
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Looks like Senator Ernst and her turn-tail Repub buddies better get their acts together. The signing of this EO "should" hasten the passage of the Savannah Act.
Good thing to see and at an appropriate time - Thanksgiving.
Isn't it a Republican Senator that is sponsoring that bill? I know Congress is dysfunctional; but action against your own party?
Unless I am reading it wrong it looks like it cleared the committee and they are recommending it as an amendment to a bill? Probably to the VAWA?
Yes, Lisa introduced the Bill - she has 17 Dem cosponsors and 9 Repub which shows, at least to me, a workable bipartisan Bill.
Not really sure, but am "thinking" that H.R. 2733 is to be an Amendment to S.277. Interestingly to me is that H.R.2733 has 39 cosponsors - 22 D's and 16 R's - which also shows huge bipartisanship.
Hoping the this EO will be the kicker to get both, S.277 and HR 2733, up and out the door.
I am not disagreeing with you. Just dismayed at the stupidity of Congress.
Just think, even if this passes the Senate this still has to get through the Democratic House. Which I am sure will want to alter it somehow.
They need to keep bills clean and simple. No poison pills. If an amendment or rider to a bill is important enough- create a new bill just for it to be argued on it's own merits.
Totally agree.
Hopefully this act turns into reality and is not just another toothless political PR move with no follow through
"The murder rate is ten times higher than the national average for American Indian women, with 84-percent experiencing some form of violence during their lifetime. There is still no reliable way of knowing how many Native women go missing each year because the databases that hold statistics of these cases are outdated. Besides, issues have arisen due to the lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies."
I'm trying to understand why this is happening? Is this a problem involving a breakdown of the family? Is it cultural?
I know somebody who lives in Gallup NM. I am told that alcoholism is a major problem "out there."
In Native communities that are really not adjacent to metropolitan areas, drugs, alcohol and disease are large problems. The youth have, literally, nothing they can do - schools are in the "cities" that usually require a long bus ride, jobs are in the "cities" where no one without a car can get to to find work, the communities surrounding the Native communities are not very accommodating/interactive with the Natives and racism/fights/criminal mischief are rampant.
Really Vic, it's a sad state of affairs in the U.S. where ethnic groups are subjected to such treatment - really sad.
Because of the laws that non-Indians could not be arrested/detained for a crime on an Indian reservation resulted in open hunting season on reservations. Stats show that 71% of all sexual assaults on native women are committed by non-Indians. VAWA is starting to change that now that non-Indian can be arrested (tribal police) detained and tried in Native courts.
In the first 18 months that this was active, 2015 to mid-2017 18 non-indians were arrested tried for sexual assault against native women. This was only one tribe the Pascua Yaqui in AZ.
It seems to be a common misconception that only Indians live on Indian reservations. That is completely false. In fact, on some reservations, there are more whites than Indians and until very recently the non-Indians could commit a crime (sexual assault) and could not be arrested or tried in a tribal court.
The SCOTUS decision in Opilfant vs Suquamish was devasting to Indians, especially native women.
On Indian Land , Criminals Can Get Away With Almost Anything. In 1978, the Supreme Court case Oliphant v. Suquamish stripped tribes of the right to arrest and prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes on Indian land .