[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 90 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20535-20536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09761]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 90 / Thursday, May 9, 2019 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 20535]]
Proclamation 9879 of May 3, 2019
Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska
Natives Awareness Day, 2019
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska
Natives Awareness Day, we draw attention to the
horrible acts of violence committed against American
Indian and Alaska Native people, particularly women and
children. Too many American Indians and Alaska Natives
are the victims of abuse, sexual exploitation, or
murder--or are missing from their communities. Some of
those missing may be victims of human trafficking. We
must work together as a Nation to correct these
injustices and ensure the safety of all Americans,
particularly our most vulnerable populations.
American Indian and Alaska Native people face alarming
levels of violence. Data from the National Institute of
Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention indicate that more than 1.5 million American
Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced
violence, including sexual violence, in their
lifetimes. American Indian and Alaska Native children
attempt and commit suicide at rates far higher than
those in any other demographic in our Nation, and often
endure disproportionately high rates of endemic drug
abuse, violence, and crime.
Ending the violence that disproportionately affects
American Indian and Alaska Native communities is
imperative. Under my Administration, Federal agencies
are working more comprehensively and more
collaboratively to address violent crime in Indian
country, to recover the American Indian and Alaska
Native women and children who have gone missing, and to
find justice for those who have been murdered. As a
result of these ongoing efforts, we are improving
public safety, we are expanding funding and training
opportunities for law enforcement in Indian country,
and we are better equipping them with tools like access
to criminal databases. We have also established
improved protocols based on our government-to-
government relationships with the tribes, and have
become more transparent and accountable in our efforts.
Currently, every United States Attorney's Office with
Indian country jurisdiction has developed sexual
assault response and multidisciplinary teams to combat
sexual assault and abuse of American Indian and Alaska
Native women and children. In addition, the Attorney
General has developed a working group dedicated to
addressing violent crime in Indian country. This
working group has made the development of law
enforcement strategies for Missing and Murdered
Indigenous People (MMIP) a priority, improving human
trafficking training and creating law enforcement
initiatives for United States Attorneys.
To help address the significant challenges in
collecting data regarding missing and murdered American
Indian and Alaska Native people, the Department of the
Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the
Department of Justice (DOJ) partnered together to
capture tribal data through new data fields in the
National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. DOJ
has also expanded the Tribal Access Program (TAP) and
Amber Alert in Indian country to make law enforcement
more aware of missing persons and to enhance their
ability to be responsive to missing persons reports and
Sexual
[[Page 20536]]
Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)
registrants in the area. TAP also enables tribal law
enforcement to have access to national law enforcement
databases and to immediately and directly enter missing
persons reports into them. In addition, BIA's Tribal
Justice Support Directorate funds the training of
tribal attorneys in prosecuting domestic violence and
partner abuse crimes as part of implementing the
Violence Against Women Act.
In Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019, DOJ allocated historic
amounts of funding to combat violent crime in Indian
country, including to the MMIP efforts of the Office on
Violence Against Women (OVW). DOJ set aside close to
$300 million from the Crime Victim Fund over two years
to assist victims of crime in Indian country. It also
expanded the Tribal Special Assistant United States
Attorney program, which is aimed at reducing violent
crime, including violence against women, in Indian
country and building important partnerships between
Federal and tribal agencies. In addition, DOJ funds the
National Indian Country Training Initiative (NICTI),
which continues to provide training at the National
Advocacy Center and in the field for Federal, State,
and tribal criminal justice and social service
professionals.
My Administration will continue working to root out
injustice and protect each and every person in America.
On Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska
Natives Awareness Day, we pause to raise awareness of
unacceptable acts of violence that profoundly harm
American Indian and Alaska Native communities. As a
Nation, we honor the lives of all missing and murdered
American Indians and Alaska Natives, and we reaffirm
our commitment to ensuring that violence against these
vulnerable Americans shall not be overlooked or
tolerated.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2019, as
Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska
Natives Awareness Day. I call upon Americans and all
Federal, State, tribal, and local governments to
increase awareness of the crisis of missing and
murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives through
appropriate programs and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
third day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand
nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and forty-third.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2019-09761
Filed 5-8-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F9-P