H.Res. 381

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 381 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 381

Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2025, as the 
``National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 
and Girls''.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 5, 2025

Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr. Cole, Mr. Huffman, 
Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Case, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Stanton, Mrs. 
Bice, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Pocan, and 
Ms. Schrier) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2025, as the 
``National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 
and Girls''.

Whereas, according to a 2016 study commissioned by the Department of Justice's 
(DOJ) National Institute of Justice (NIJ), more than 4 in 5 (84.3 
percent) American Indian and Alaska Native women experienced violence in 
their lifetime, with 56.1 percent being a result of sexual violence and 
55 percent being from intimate partner violence;
Whereas, according to 2017 data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
found homicide was the sixth-leading cause of death for American Indian 
and Alaska Native women and girls under 44 years of age, with murder 
rates more than 10 times the national average;
Whereas approximately 1,500 American Indian and Alaska Native missing persons 
have been entered into the National Crime Information Center index 
throughout the United States, and approximately 2,700 cases of murder 
and nonnegligent homicide offenses have been reported to the Federal 
Government's Uniform Crime Reporting Program;
Whereas, according to a 2020 joint study completed by the State of Hawai'i and 
the Hawai'i State Commission on the Status of Women, 64 percent of human 
trafficking victims in Hawai'i identified as at least part Native 
Hawaiian;
Whereas the current local, State, and Federal funding available in Indian 
country is inadequate to address the basic, emergency, and long-term 
service needs of victims and negatively impacts Tribal governments' 
ability to distribute lifesaving resources;
Whereas, in 2019, Operation Lady Justice was launched through Executive Order 
13898 which established the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American 
Indians and Alaska Natives aimed at mitigating the missing and murdered 
Indigenous women (MMIW) crisis by improving the investigatory and 
prosecutorial capabilities of Federal justice agencies and generating 
new guidelines for data sharing and law enforcement responses;
Whereas, in 2020, Savanna's Act (Public Law 116-165) and the Not Invisible Act 
(Public Law 116-166) were signed into law, which initiated a joint 
commission between the Department of the Interior (DOI) and DOJ to 
combat violent crime within Tribal communities and develop new law 
enforcement protocols when investigating MMIW;
Whereas, in 2021, DOI created a Missing and Murdered Unit within its Bureau of 
Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services to expand cross-departmental 
and interagency collaboration for the purposes of investigating cases of 
missing and murdered Indigenous people at the request of Tribal 
leadership;
Whereas, in 2022, DOI fulfilled a provision in the Not Invisible Act requiring 
the establishment of the Not Invisible Act Commission by filling 
membership with law enforcement, Tribal leaders, Federal partners, 
service providers, family members of MMIW, and survivors and held their 
first meeting;
Whereas, in 2023, the Not Invisible Act Commission submitted recommendations to 
the DOJ, DOI, and Congress to address the epidemic of missing persons 
and the murder and trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Native 
peoples;
Whereas, in response to the commission's recommendations, DOJ highlighted the 
MMIW regional outreach program to aid the U.S. Attorney's Offices to 
update Savanna's Act guidelines to provide further training and 
technical assistance to State agencies and provide uniformity in 
guidelines across jurisdictions;
Whereas, despite progress that has been made, in 2024, 5,614 Indigenous Women 
and Girls were reported missing. Of these 5,614 reports, 4,179 victims 
were under the age of 18. At the end of 2024, there were 628 active 
missing person records;
Whereas, research data shows that national averages hide the extremely high 
rates of murder against Indigenous women and girls present in some 
counties comprised primarily of tribal land; and
Whereas, in previous years, May 5 has been designated as the day of remembrance 
for ``Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls'' in honor of the 
birth date of Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, who 
was murdered after being reported missing by her family in Lame Deer, 
Montana: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses support for the designation of a ``National 
Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and 
Girls'';
(2) calls on the people of the United States and interested 
groups to--
(A) commemorate the lives of missing and murdered 
Indigenous women and girls whose cases are documented 
and undocumented in public records and the media; and
(B) demonstrate solidarity with the families of 
victims in light of those tragedies;
(3) recommends that the Department of Justice's National 
Institute of Justice commission a new study with focused data 
on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls to ensure 
up-to-date statistics are made public regarding the current 
state of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls 
crisis given 9 years have passed since their 2016 study was 
published; and
(4) recognizes that, despite the positive efforts made, 
there is more work to be done to address this nationwide 
crisis.
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