WHEREAS, Efforts throughout our state seek to raise public awareness that information and resources are lacking to support the families of those missing or murdered; and

WHEREAS, Washington State does not have information collected or reported data on the majority of cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women; and

WHEREAS, Courageous tribal members called the state to action, shining a bright light on their missing and murdered family members; and

WHEREAS, In 2012, the New York Times reported a U.S. Department of Justice statistic that Indigenous women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than American women of other races; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention found that, in 2016, homicide was the third leading cause of death among Indigenous women between the ages of 10 and 24; and

WHEREAS, A 2016 National Institute of Justice article announced that the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 authorized broad-based, much-needed research to be undertaken on violence against Indigenous women; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, the National Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Survey, funded by the National Institute of Justice, reported that more than four in five Indigenous women, or 84.3 percent, experience violence in their lives; and

WHEREAS, The Senate recognizes the current statewide crisis regarding missing and murdered Indigenous women;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate express its gratitude and appreciation to the devoted members of the Indigenous community for their perseverance in bringing this body's focus to this crisis; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the value of strong community awareness to the vitality and well-being of our great state of Washington; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate join with the tribes of Washington State and all other interested stakeholders to raise further awareness of the information deficit and limited resources available for families of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

I, Brad Hendrickson, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 8720,

adopted by the Senate

February 23, 2018

BRAD HENDRICKSON

Secretary of the Senate