The law sets up a system similar to Amber Alerts and silver alerts that are used nationwide when a child or vulnerable adults go missing, the news outlet said.
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill that creates the nation’s first statewide alert system for missing Indigenous people, similar to the Amber Alert system, according to published news reports
The bill was passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate, the Associated Press reported.
The law sets up a system similar to Amber Alerts and silver alerts, which are used nationwide when a child or vulnerable adults go missing, the news outlet said.
During Thursday's signing ceremony held at the Tulip Resort Casino, many clapped when Inslee signed the bill. He also signed other tribal-related bills.
"Compared to the rest of the state's population, Indigenous women comprise a disproportionate number of missing people," Inslee said, in part, CNN reported. “For women who are found, this bill will provide treatment so that they can start to recover from the trauma of their experience."
Currently, there are 114 missing people as of March 28, according to the Washington State Patrol Missing Native American Person’s website.
Over the years, many families of the missing and activists have felt that not enough resources were being used to locate their loved ones, CNN reported.
More recently, federal and state officials have stepped up their efforts and have acknowledged the crisis of violence against Native Americans. However, some advocates still argue that more needs to be done, the news outlet said.
Many hope this bill will help bring renewed hope to a silent crisis that has plagued the nation.“It’s not just an Indian issue, it's not just an Indian responsibility. Our sisters, our aunties, our grandmothers are going missing every day,” said Democratic Rep. Debra Lekanoff, the chief sponsor of the bill, and the only Native American lawmaker currently serving in the Washington state Legislature, the AP reported.
Lekanoff, who is a member of the Tlingit tribe, said she was “proud to say that the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s and People’s Alert System came from the voices of our Native American leaders," the news outlet said.
She added: the bill "removes the hand so we can hear the unheard screams, it removes the hand from the Washington State Patrol. It brings together all of our governing bodies to collaborate, to take care (of) those who have been taken, those who've been lost, and those yet to come,” she said.
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