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Activists Want More Resources Put Towards Missing Indigenous Women
<span>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@cytngl?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Cayetano Gil</a> on Unsplash
Officials and stakeholders in the cases of missing and murdered Indigenous victims held a panel on Saturday to raise awareness around the devastating problem.
Last year, the Centers for Disease Control found homicide to be the third-leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women. On some reservations, the murder rates of Native American women is ten times higher than the national average.
Boys and men are affected as well. Lisa Craig, whose family lives in Shasta County, said her nephew, Nick Craig, disappeared in Northern California more than a year ago.
“Some of these cases come about through drugs and alcohol,” she said. “Up here in the rural counties, that's kind of pushed off as, ‘Well, he's part of that crowd, so it doesn't matter.’”
Last year, Assemblymember James Ramos introduced a bill that would require the California Department of Justice to collaborate in a more meaningful way with tribal law enforcement. It would also instigate a study to determine how to increase state resources for reporting and identifying missing Native Americans in California, particularly women and girls.
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