Support HF70 to help end the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Minnesota
For centuries Indigenous women (and girls) have been victims of violent crime - going missing and being murdered at a much higher rate than any other group, with very little accounting of the extent of the problem.
Based on the limited data that exists, Indigenous women are 2 ½ times more likely to suffer violence than any other group in the US. In some parts of Minnesota, the murder rate of Indigenous women is over 10 times higher than anywhere else in the country.
Although the topic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women has gained awareness in recent years, and while sex trafficking and the fossil fuel industry go hand in hand, in fact this issue has been plaguing Indigenous communities for hundreds of years.
Tuesday, January 29, bill (HF70) will be heard by the Public Safety Committee to appropriate funds to enact a task force to start collecting data and make reports to the legislature regarding how to stop this epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women.
This bill was created by 25+ indigenous women of many different organizations, including Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein, as an attempt to begin to determine the scope of the massive problem. Last year this bill got good support but it ended up in an omnibus bill, which was ultimately vetoed. The aim this year is for this bill to get a hearing on the House floor so that it can reach Governor Walz's desk and get signed into law.
Please support this bill:
Attend the hearing Tuesday, January 29 at 12:45 p.m., Capitol Rm 120, State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd, Saint Paul, 55155.
See details of the event from Natives Lives Matter Coalition, plus wonderful photos of them at the Women’s March.
If your House representative is on the Public Safety Committee, please contact them and urge them to support this bill. Not sure who represents you? Check here to find out who represents you.
This is the first hearing of this bill. There will be another hearing for this bill as well as hearings for the companion bill in the Senate. Your support at these hearing will be very welcomed, too. We will let you know when these bills come up.
More actions you can take:
Donate to Native Lives Matter
Donate to Native Lives Matter and their work to end the violence against Indigenous Women. The fundraiser donations will go directly towards RED for MMIW projects, annual MMIW March events to bring awareness to the epidemic, support families on the frontline of the MMIW movement and initiatives to address the ongoing crisis. Women’s March MN is donating $500 to match your donations!