WA State Will Soon Have An Alert System For Murdered And Missing Indigenous People
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For the first time, Washington State will have an alert system for missing and murdered indigenous people.
A new bill was signed on Thursday to create it.
“The women who have been lost, those who have passed on they will know that they’re never forgotten,” said State Rep. Debra Lekanoff of the Tlingit Tribe. “The women who are still missing. The songs, the voices, the work you’ve all done, they’re gunna know that we’ll find them.”
Tribal members honored those who moved the legislation forward with ceremonial blankets.
The vibrant blankets were wrapped around individuals representing one’s ancestors and elders who will come and help you.
According to the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle, indigenous people are missing and murdered at higher rates compared to any other ethnic group.
Indigenous women also go missing four times the rate compared to white women.
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