Tribes take a stand against MMIP crisis | News
Last week, the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Tribal Council passed a resolution on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) crisis. The Tribal Council and Department of Community and Family Welfare felt it was essential that we support the Yurok Tribe’s declaration of emergency regarding missing, murdered and Indigenous women.
Dorothy Wait, Director of Community and Family Wellbeing, said: “We are setting the framework for proactive responses going forward. Native Americans are overrepresented in the most negative aspects of crime, especially women. This is a nationwide public health crisis.
Indigenous women and girls are primarily vulnerable because little to no data is tracked in Northern California. The United States Department of Justice has found that Native American/Alaska Native women face murder rates more than ten times the national average.
Homicide is the third leading cause of death among Aboriginal people aged 10 to 24 and the fourth leading cause of death among Aboriginal people aged 25 to 34.
The Nation will work to coordinate efforts among Nation departments, federal agencies, tribes and tribal organizations, local law enforcement organizations, and community organizations to create a community response plan. (TCRP) in order to increase the response to the disappearance or murder of Indigenous people.
We encourage other agencies, tribes, organizations and community organizations to raise awareness about this crucial topic. As the Yurok Tribe stated, “The intergenerational impacts of years of violence, trafficking and killings through missions, massacres, forced relocations, boarding schools, the widespread removal of children from their families by the Biases in the child welfare system, disproportionate incarcerations, police brutality and high rates of gender-based violence still occur to this day and directly contribute to issues like MMIW.”
Violence against indigenous peoples is a serious violation of human rights. Effects range from immediate to multiple long-term physical, sexual, and mental costs, including death for Indigenous people. Defending and investing in the protection of Indigenous peoples paves the way to equality, poverty eradication, economic growth and the general well-being of our communities.
The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation is a federally recognized Indian tribe of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ people. The Nation’s headquarters is located 3 miles south of the Oregon-California border in California’s Pacific Northwest. The general membership of the tribe consists of over 1,900 citizens. The Nation strives every day to make Del Norte County and Curry County a better place to live and work.