Today is Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day. Today we remember the victims, and hold their families in our hearts. It’s a time to renew our commitment to work with Tribal Nations and Native communities to achieve justice and healing. #MMIP #MMIW
Seattle City Council sought to address this work after the 2018 landmark report from the Urban Indian Health Institute, authored by @echohawkd3 which identified Seattle as the city with the highest # of unsolved cases of missing and murdered indigenous women in the nation.
@echohawkd3 It also highlighted inconsistencies in the data collection and reporting methods by law enforcement across all levels of government.
@echohawkd3 In September 2019, I sponsored Res. 31900. Our unanimous resolution acknowledged our city’s responsibility to address this epidemic with material resources.
@echohawkd3 Also in 2019, our City budget included provisos to allocate resources to address these cases. Our city became the first in the nation, to my knowledge, to pass legislation with real teeth to combat the epidemic.
@echohawkd3 Since then, we’ve seen progress on the federal/state level. Next month, in my committee, we'll get our 1st report back on how our initial investments have improved our internal data collection to help us respond more quickly & achieve justice for our Indigenous community members.
@echohawkd3 Today, I encourage you to think about how, as a community, we can continue to protect, defend, and stand up for Indigenous people. We must work towards a future where victims, their families, and communities can see justice and begin to heal.
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