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Torres, Newhouse, Haaland Introduce Improved, Bipartisan Savanna's Act

May 14, 2019

Legislation would address the disturbing increase in missing and murdered indigenous women

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Representatives Norma Torres (D-CA), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and Deb Haaland (D-NM) introduced Savanna's Act, a bill named in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year-old pregnant member of the Spirit Lake Tribe who was tragically murdered in August 2017.

Native American and Alaska Native women face a murder rate ten times higher than the national average, with eighty-four percent experiencing some form of violence in their lifetime. There is still no reliable way of knowing how many indigenous women go missing each year because of outdated databases and a lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies. Savanna's Act addresses the disturbing increase in missing and murdered Native American women by creating new guidelines for investigation of such cases and by incentivizing their implementation.

"Missing and murdered Native American women and their families deserve justice, and Congress must act," said Rep. Dan Newhouse. "I am proud to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to introduce this improved version of Savanna's Act to finally empower law enforcement agencies and tribes to effectively address this devastating issue that impacts communities in Central Washington and across the country."

"There's a crisis of missing and murdered Native women in this country. Savanna's Act, if passed into law, would help resolve that crisis," said Rep. Norma Torres. "I'm grateful to my House and Senate colleagues for their hard work and support on this updated bill, and I look forward to working towards its swift passage."

"Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own community, but Native American and Alaskan Native women continue to face murder rates that are ten times higher than the national average. It's heartbreaking cases like Savanna Greywind, Ashlynne Mike, Judith Apache, and countless Native women and their families that are left behind that drive us to work for solutions to the silent crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. This long-standing epidemic will take time, resources, and dedication to resolve it – and we will find solutions. In this updated version of Savanna's Act, I worked hard to prioritize the safety of Native women, including urban areas, to protect indigenous women throughout the country," said Rep. Deb Haaland, Co-Chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus.

"We are very appreciative that our Congressman, Dan Newhouse, will be joining Representatives Torres and Haaland in introducing Savanna's Act in the House of Representatives today. This legislation is a priority not only for our people, but for tribes and Indian people across the country. Ensuring a coordinated approach among all law enforcement agencies is essential to protect the basic human rights of our people," said Athena Sanchey-Yallup, Secretary of the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and Chair of the Yakama Nation Missing and Murdered Indian Women Committee.

"The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation strongly supports Savanna's Act, which is a critical first step to ensuring that law enforcement agencies provide better information and data on missing and murdered indigenous women on a nationwide basis," said Rodney Cawston, Chairman of the Colville Business Council. "The Colville Tribes hopes that Congress will provide sufficient resources to close these unsolved missing persons cases that impact all of our tribal communities. The Colville Tribes appreciates Congressman Newhouse's leadership on this issue and looks forward to implementing the Act once it is signed into law." [Colville Business Council is the governing body for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.]

Click here to read the text of the bill.

Savanna's Act is endorsed by the following organizations: National Congress of American Indians, National Indigenous Women's Resource Center, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Washington, Seattle Indian Health Board, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Muckleshoot Tribe of Washington, Western Native Voice, Alaska Native Women's Resource Center, All Pueblo Council of Governors, Intertribal Association of Arizona, United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund, Navajo Nation.

Torres, Newhouse, and Haaland were joined in introducing the bill by original co-sponsors Representatives Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Sharice Davids (D-KS), Greg Gianforte (R-MT), Tom Cole (R-OK), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Don Young (R-AK), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), Karen Bass (D-CA), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Paul Cook (R-CA), and Terri A. Sewell (D-AL).

Background:

Savanna's Act aims to address and bring awareness to the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women by developing guidelines and best practices for law enforcement agencies across the country, improving coordination between law enforcement agencies, and enhancing reporting, record keeping, and communication for law enforcement and families of victims.

The legislation was previously introduced in the 115th Congress by Rep. Torres and Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). The Senate passed the bill unanimously, but it did not receive consideration in the House due to policy-related concerns. In January 2019, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Cortez-Masto (D-NV) reintroduced the bill in the Senate.

Reps. Torres, Newhouse, and Haaland worked together with the Senators to address previous concerns and develop improved language to introduce in the House of Representatives. The new bill builds on previous versions of Savanna's Act by expanding the requirement for the creation of law enforcement guidelines to all U.S. Attorneys, not just those with Indian County Jurisdiction, and requires such guidelines to be regionally appropriate. It also requires the Attorney General to publicly list the law enforcement agencies that comply with the provisions of the legislation. Finally, it includes a new implementation and incentive section that provides grant authority to law enforcement organizations to implement the provisions of the legislation and increases the amount of those grants for those in compliance.

Washington state is ranked second among states in number of cases related to missing and murdered indigenous women with 71 identified cases. Washington's 4th Congressional District is home to two federally recognized tribes, Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.