(Image: Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto)
Washington, D.C. – On May 8, 2024, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) sent a letter urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to implement key provisions of their bipartisan Savanna’s Act—which was signed into law alongside the Not Invisible Act in October 2020—to help combat the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW).
The commission created by the Not Invisible Act issued a report with dozens of recommendations to improve the federal response to the MMIW crisis, and it highlighted critical requirements of Savanna’s Act that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has failed to implement—including better data collection of MMIW cases and streamlining law enforcement guidelines to enhance inter-jurisdictional cooperation.
“Violent crime continues to disproportionately harm Native Americans and Alaska Natives across the nation. While we appreciate DOJ’s ongoing efforts to address the increased rates of victimization amongst these communities, DOJ has fallen short in its implementation of Savanna’s Act,” said the senators.
“Savanna’s Act was signed into law in October 2020. Despite the time frames allotted for DOJ to implement Savanna’s Act, itis unclear how far along DOJ’s implementation status is for multiple portions of the law,” the senators continued.
“We cannot begin to reduce violence for Native Americans and Alaska Natives if we do not bring together inter-jurisdictional resources and streamline responses to crime. In order for law enforcement, Tribal members, and other stakeholders to best protect the public safety of Native Americans and Alaska Natives, DOJ must fulfill its obligation to fully administer Savanna’s Act…It is long overdue that the federal government take action to protect Native victims and their families,” concluded the senators.
Senator Cortez Masto is one of the strongest champions for Native Americans in the Senate, and she has led bipartisan efforts with Senator Lisa Murkowski(R-Alaska) to protect Native communities. Savanna’s Act, named in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, requires federal law enforcement to create standard guidelines on responding to these crimes and increase data collection on them. The Not Invisible Act creates a point person in the Bureau of Indian Affairs to improve coordination of violent crime prevention across federal agencies and established a commission comprised of law enforcement, tribal leaders, federal partners, service providers, and survivors who made recommendations to ensure that DOI and DOJ work together to protect Native women and to address the epidemic of missing persons, murder, and trafficking of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The senator has also repeatedly called on the administration to do more to address the epidemic of violence against Native women and girls, including securing federal funding to protect Native communities, urging the administration to put together a plan to address this issue, and requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the federal response to this crisis. She is pushing bipartisan legislation to support Tribal law enforcement and improve public safety in Native communities—one of the recommendations of the Not Invisible commission.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California commission on Asia and Pacifica Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident of hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
