Cantwell Introduces Resolution Raising Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, joined U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) in introducing a resolution commemorating May 5th, 2026, as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
"Indigenous people – especially women and girls – are being murdered or going missing at horrific and unacceptable rates. On May 5th, we remember the victims of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis and recognize the suffering of families and Native communities. We must demand justice and continue our work to get more law enforcement resources for tribes,” Sen. Cantwell said.
Sen. Cantwell is a strong advocate for increasing the presence of tribal law enforcement officers on reservations to help combat the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) crisis among Native communities. In 2023 and 2025, she introduced the Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act, which would help tribal police departments hire and retain tribal law enforcement officers by providing access to federal retirement, pension, death, and injury benefits on par with law enforcement officers from non-tribal jurisdictions. In 2023, she called on then-President Joe Biden to work to secure additional Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU) agents for the State of Washington.
Following Sen. Cantwell’s urging, in June 2023 the U.S. Department of Justice announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach Program, which dedicated five Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five coordinators to the task of resolving the cases of missing and murdered indigenous people. This included dedicated personnel based in Eastern Washington.
In 2020, the Sen. Cantwell-championed Savanna’s Act was signed into law. The law helps federal, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies better respond to cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and people by improving coordination among all levels of law enforcement, increasing data collection and information sharing, and providing tribal governments with vital resources.
Sen. Cantwell has also helped secure public safety funding specifically for tribal communities. In the 2013 and 2022 reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act, Sen. Cantwell fought to include strong tribal policies including: allowing tribes to continue to have jurisdiction over dating violence and domestic violence crimes and violations of tribal protection orders, restoring tribal jurisdiction over violent and dangerous crimes such as child and sexual abuse, sex trafficking and stalking, and providing tribes with more resources to improve and build public safety programs within their communities.
In 2019, Sen. Cantwell co-sponsored the Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment (SURVIVE) Act to provide a substantial increase in resources for tribal crime victim assistance programs.
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