# Plain Language Summary: National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

This resolution asks Congress to officially recognize May 5th as a "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls." It's essentially a symbolic gesture—the resolution doesn't create new laws or funding, but rather calls attention to a serious crisis affecting Indigenous communities across the country.

The resolution highlights some alarming statistics to explain why this matters. According to the data cited, more than 4 out of 5 Native American and Alaska Native women experience violence in their lifetime, and murder rates for Indigenous women and girls are more than 10 times the national average. The resolution notes that approximately 1,500 Indigenous people are listed as missing in national databases, and around 2,700 murder cases have been reported. The crisis is so severe that it's even affecting Native Hawaiian communities, where nearly two-thirds of human trafficking victims identified as at least part Native Hawaiian.

The resolution also acknowledges that the federal government has already taken some steps to address this problem, including launching Operation Lady Justice in 2019 and passing two laws (Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act) in 2020 to improve law enforcement coordination and investigation protocols. However, the resolution makes clear that these efforts haven't been enough. It calls on Americans to remember and honor the victims on May 5th, and it specifically recommends that the Department of Justice commission an updated study on this crisis, since the most recent data is from 2016.

Essentially, this resolution is Congress saying: "We recognize this problem exists, we want the nation to pay attention to it, and we need better information to address it."

Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2024, as the "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls".

Newhouse, Dan

<p>This resolution expresses support for the designation of a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.</p>