Photo: A participant in the Greater Than Fear Rally in Rochester Minnesota, 2018, by Lorie Shaull, Wikimedia
Every May, we celebrate Police Week, a time to honor the officers who put their lives on the line to keep us safe. In the Senate, it’s a key time to advance legislation addressing public safety.
But every year on May fifth, we also honor the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), a reminder of how much more we need to do to keep Native women and children safe. Despite the high rates of violence experienced by Indigenous people, Tribal police don’t have access to the same resources most police departments have.
For example, Tribal police departments can’t ask the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) for help locating dangerous criminals or finding missing kids, but every other law enforcement agency can. There’s no reason for this injustice, and that’s why I introduced the Tribal Warrant Fairness Act so that the USMS can provide support to Tribal law enforcement as they would any other police department.
And I have good news! This Police Week, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the Tribal Warrant Fairness Act. It is now one step closer to becoming law.
Ending the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women and girls is one of my top priorities, and I won’t stop fighting – during Police Week or any other week of the year.
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