(GREAT FALLS) A Congressional measure aimed at addressing the issue of murdered and missing Native Americans has cleared a legislative hurdle.
The proposal, known as Savanna’s Act, was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, keeping the
bill alive and headed for approval in the U.S House of Representatives before heading to the President’s desk.
Introduced by U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, the measure secured support from Montana’s delegation.
The bill is named for Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, who was abducted and killed in Fargo, North Dakota.
The Congressional website provides this overview of Savanna’s Act
This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to update the online data entry format for federal databases relevant to cases of missing and murdered Indians to include a new data field for users to input the victim’s tribal enrollment information or affiliation.
In addition, DOJ must:
- make standardized law enforcement and justice protocols that serve as guidelines for law enforcement
- agencies with respect to missing and murdered Indians,
- develop protocols to investigate those cases that are guided by the standardized protocols,
- meet certain requirements to consult with Indian tribes, and
- provide tribes and law enforcement agencies with training and technical assistance relating to the development and implementation of the law enforcement and justice protocols.
- Federal law enforcement agencies that investigate and prosecute crimes related to missing and murdered Indians must modify their law enforcement and justice protocols to comply with the standardized protocols.
The text of the bill outlines some of the reasons for the proposal:
(1) On some reservations, Indian women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average.
(2) American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.5 times as likely to experience violent crimes—and at least 2 times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes—compared to all other races according to the National Congress of American Indians.
(3) More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women, or 84.3 percent, have experienced violence in their lifetime according to the National Institute of Justice.
(4) More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native men, or 81.6 percent, have experienced violence in their lifetime according to the National Institute of Justice.
(5) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide is the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between 10 and 24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age.
U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) supports Savanna’s Act, and according to his staff, has also sponsored additional legislation to curb this “tragic trajectory.”
Daines believes the issue of missing and murdered Native women is a significant problem in Montana and subsequently has introduced four legislative actions to combat crimes toward Native Americans, according to information provided by Daine’s staff.
U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) , a co-sponsor of Savanna’s Act, said everyone in Congress must work together to end what he calls an epidemic.
“Savanna’s Act would ensure we all have access to the most comprehensive data regarding these crimes and make sure law enforcement agencies are on the same page as they investigate this unacceptable epidemic,” said Tester in a press release.
Tester will be leading a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on the issue on Wednesday, December 12th. He said in a press release: “We’re holding this hearing to hear from the survivors and families affected by this epidemic and grill the folks who are supposed to be ending it.”
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