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JOINT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING MAY 5, 2019 AS NATIONAL DAY OF AWARENESS FOR MISSING AND MURDERED NATIVE WOMEN AND GIRLS
WHEREAS, according to a study commissioned by the federal Department of Justice, in some tribal communities Native American women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average; and
WHEREAS,  according to the most recently available data from the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2015 homicide ranged from the 2nd to the 7th leading cause of death for Native American and Alaska Native females between 1 and 39 years of age and remained a leading cause of death for most Native American and Alaska Native females between 40 and 64 years of age; and
WHEREAS,  little data exists on the number of missing Native American and Alaska Native women and girls in the United States; and
WHEREAS,  challenges in collecting and tracking data prevent a full understanding of the scope of the crisis of missing and murdered native women and girls; and
WHEREAS,  over 175 tribal, state, regional and national organizations have joined with the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center in support of the resolution to create a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Legislature now assembled in the First Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, take this opportunity to recognize May 5, 2019 as National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls and to recognize the importance of changes to address the crisis and to increase safety for Native American and Alaska Native women and girls.