Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state signed a bill Thursday that creates the nation’s first alert system for missing Indigenous people.
The bill, which was passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate, highlights that"indigenous people experience disproportionate rates of violence in Washington state," and calls for the creation of an advisory system, like the AMBER Alert system. "Compared to the rest of the state's population, indigenous women comprise a disproportionate number of missing people," Inslee said during a signing ceremony.
Debra Lekanoff, a sponsor of the bill, spoke during the ceremony and said missing and murdered indigenous women and people"is not just an Indian issue, it's not just an Indian responsibility. Our sisters, our aunties, our grandmothers are going missing every day."Read MoreThe bill"removes the hand so we can hear the unheard screams, it removes the hand from the Washington State Patrol.
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Washington OKs 1st statewide missing Indigenous people alertWashington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed into law a bill that creates a first-in-the-nation statewide alert system for missing Indigenous people.
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