IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 353 

Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2023, as the ‘‘National 

Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 2, 2023 

Mr. NEWHOUSE (for himself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. 

PORTER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. 

STANSBURY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. 

LEGER FERNANDEZ, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. KILMER, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. 

STANTON, Ms. HOYLE of Oregon, Mr. SOTO, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. SMITH

of Nebraska, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. ROSENDALE, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Mr. 

STEWART, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GALLEGO, 

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. COLE, Mrs. BICE, Mr. STAUBER, 

Mr. POCAN, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. TOKUDA, and Mr. CASE) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2023, 

as the ‘‘National Day of Awareness for Missing and 

Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’’. 

Whereas, according to a 2016 study commissioned by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Institute of Justice 

(NIJ), more than 4 in 5 (84.3 percent) American Indian 

and Alaska Native women experienced violence in their 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HRES 353 IH 

lifetime, with 56.1 percent being a result of sexual violence and 55 percent being from intimate partner violence; 

Whereas, according to 2017 data, the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention found homicide was the sixthleading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska 

Native women and girls under 44 years of age, with murder rates more than 10 times the national average; 

Whereas approximately 1,500 American Indian and Alaska 

Native missing persons have been entered into the National Crime Information Center index throughout the 

United States, and approximately 2,700 cases of murder 

and nonnegligent homicide offenses have been reported to 

the Federal Government’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program; 

Whereas, according to a 2020 joint study completed by the 

State of Hawai’i and the Hawai’i State Commission on 

the Status of Women, 64 percent of human trafficking 

victims in Hawai’i identified as at least part Native Hawaiian; 

Whereas the current local, State, and Federal funding available in Indian country is inadequate to address the basic, 

emergency, and long-term service needs of victims and 

negatively impacts Tribal governments’ ability to distribute lifesaving resources; 

Whereas, in 2019, Operation Lady Justice was launched 

through Executive Order 13898 which established the 

Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians 

and Alaska Natives aimed at mitigating the missing and 

murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) crisis by improving the investigatory and prosecutorial capabilities of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HRES 353 IH 

Federal justice agencies and generating new guidelines 

for data sharing and law enforcement responses; 

Whereas, in 2020, Savanna’s Act (Public Law 116–165) and 

the Not Invisible Act (Public Law 116–166) were signed 

into law which initiated a joint commission between the 

Department of the Interior (DOI) and DOJ to combat 

violent crime within Tribal communities and develop new 

law enforcement protocols when investigating MMIW; 

Whereas, in 2021, DOI created a Missing and Murdered Unit 

within their Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice 

Services to expand cross-departmental and interagency 

collaboration for the purposes of investigating cases of 

missing and murdered Indigenous people at the request 

of Tribal leadership; and 

Whereas, in previous years, May 5 has been designated as the 

day of remembrance for ‘‘Missing and Murdered Native 

Women and Girls’’ in honor of the birth date of Hanna 

Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, who 

was murdered after being reported missing by her family 

in Lame Deer, Montana: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) expresses support for the designation of a 

3 ‘‘National Day of Awareness for Missing and Mur4 dered Indigenous Women and Girls’’; 

5 (2) calls on the people of the United States and 

6 interested groups to— 

7 (A) commemorate the lives of missing and 

8 murdered Indigenous women and girls whose 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HRES 353 IH 

1 cases are documented and undocumented in 

2 public records and the media; and 

3 (B) demonstrate solidarity with the fami4 lies of victims in light of those tragedies; 

5 (3) recommends that the Department of Jus6 tice’s National Institute of Justice commission a new 

7 study on missing and murdered Indigenous women 

8 and girls to ensure up-to-date statistics are made 

9 public regarding the current state of the missing and 

10 murdered Indigenous women and girls crisis given 7 

11 years have passed since their 2016 study was pub12 lished; and 

13 (4) recognizes that, despite the positive efforts 

14 made, there is more work to be done to address this 

15 nationwide crisis. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB