Brian Schatz Delivers Remarks On Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Week

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During remarks the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen Brian Schatz (D-HI) spoke about Indigenous female victims of violence and the passage of the Violence Against Women Act.

Transcript

00:00Senator from Hawaii.

00:05Thank you, Mr. President.

00:06This week is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Week.

00:17And it is a sobering reminder of both the breathtaking scale of this tragedy

00:23that has plagued native communities for generations and

00:27how far we still have to go to bring justice and healing

00:32to the victims and families affected by it.

00:35This crisis is likely out of view for most Americans.

00:41But it stares us in the face.

00:46Murder is the third leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska

00:51Native women and girls, which is 10 times the national average.

00:5610 times the national average.

01:01American Indians and Alaska Natives are more than twice as likely

01:04to experience violent crimes, including rape and sexual assault,

01:09than any other group of people in the United States.

01:12And in Hawaii,

01:1364% of human trafficking survivors are Native Hawaiian.

01:21Even so, we still don't know the true extent of the crisis, because for so long,

01:25the federal government failed to take it seriously.

01:30It was more convenient to pretend as if it didn't exist than to dedicate federal

01:34resources to investigating the crimes and prosecuting those responsible.

01:40And as a result, in far too many instances, justice has not been served.

01:44And families have not been able to begin the process of healing.

01:48To experience the tragedy of a loved one gone or a neighbor suddenly found dead is horrific in and of itself.

01:59But worse, these communities often have to shoulder the burden of finding answers all by themselves while they're grieving.

02:07Were that to happen anywhere else or to anyone else, we would be rightly outraged.

02:15The fact that it's happening to Native Americans in cities like Anchorage and Albuquerque or remote reservations

02:21and on Hawaiian homelands should not change our outrage.

02:26After decades of underinvestment, Congress finally took steps to address this crisis

02:34when we reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act in 2022.

02:39As chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at the time, I was proud to work with Native leaders and advocates,

02:45and especially my good friend, the vice chair at the time, Lisa Murkowski,

02:49to restore tribal jurisdiction for certain violent crimes

02:53and increase federal resources to keep Native families safe.

02:58And no one bill or action is going to remedy generations of neglect and injustice.

03:06But it was an important step forward, along with other laws, in turning the tide on this shameful and longstanding problem.

03:15There remains a lot of work to be done to ensure that Native people feel safe in their homes and their communities.

03:23And it's a priority that we continue to advance on the Indian Affairs Committee with the chairman, Lisa Murkowski, and many others.

03:30But today, we remember the many victims lost to this devastating epidemic of violence

03:39and recommit ourselves to helping to find justice and healing for all of those affected.

03:47I yield the floor.

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