California tribes awarded almost $20M to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person crisis
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Eighteen California tribes will receive almost $20 million in grants to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person crisis in the state.
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the grant award for funding to help investigations, develop culturally based prevention strategies, improve responses to human trafficking, supply culturally appropriate support services to families and improve cooperation and communication on jurisdictional issues with local, state, federal and tribal law enforcement.
The Pit River Tribe will be using the funds to develop culturally based support and resources for family members with missing loved ones with their tribal victim witness department.
The Pechanga Band of Indians is planning to hire a trained law enforcement investigator, a human trafficking coordinator and a “master’s-level” social worker with a background in commercial sexual exploitation. This social worker will respond to youth runaways, missing person incidents and potential human trafficking victims.
The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians will use the grant to establish a housing project to provide a “safe and culturally sensitive environment for the tribe’s most vulnerable members,” according to the governor’s news release.
There are more than 150 documented Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person cases in California, according to the Sovereign Bodies Institute. California currently has the fifth most cases across the country.
This issue reflects disproportionate rates of violence against Native people, where 84% of Native women and 82% of Native men will experience violence in their lifetime, according to the news release.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person cases are seven times less likely to be solved than any other group, the news release stated. In particular, Native women are more than ten times likely to be victims of murder compared to the national average.
“Too many Native people, many of them women and girls, are missing with no answer,” Newsom said in a statement. “Behind each Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person case is a family and community grieving a loved one.”
The 2024-2025 state budget will give an additional $13.25 million for these grants.
