[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 90 (Friday, May 8, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27633-27635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10076]



[[Page 27631]]

Vol. 85

Friday,

No. 90

May 8, 2020

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 10026--Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska 
Natives Awareness Day, 2020
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  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 90 / Friday, May 8, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 10026 of May 5, 2020

                
Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska 
                Natives Awareness Day, 2020

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The American Indian and Alaska Native people have 
                endured generations of injustice. They experience 
                domestic violence, homicide, sexual assault, and abuse 
                far more frequently than other groups. These horrific 
                acts, committed predominantly against women and girls, 
                are egregious and unconscionable. During Missing and 
                Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness 
                Day, we reaffirm our commitment to ending the 
                disturbing violence against these Americans and to 
                honoring those whose lives have been shattered and 
                lost.

                Resiliency, collaboration, and resourcefulness are all 
                necessary to eradicate the heartbreaking incidents of 
                missing persons and fatal violence experienced by 
                American Indian and Alaska Native communities across 
                our country. My Administration stands squarely behind 
                the tribal governments that are leading the efforts to 
                address this pattern of violence so that their people 
                can live in peace and thrive. The Yakama Nation in 
                southern Washington is using the State's major violent 
                crime database to track the disappearance of tribal 
                members. On the Navajo Reservation, the Missing and 
                Murdered Din[eacute] Relatives Work Group is working to 
                end sex trafficking, child abductions, and other 
                challenges within the largest tribal jurisdiction in 
                the Nation. In Montana, the Confederated Salish and 
                Kootenai Tribes are engaged with State officials to 
                prioritize cases of missing and murdered tribal 
                citizens. Beyond these and other efforts, tribal 
                communities are leveraging rich cultural traditions of 
                healing ceremonies and spiritual practices to offer 
                refuge, compassion, and comfort to individuals and 
                families in crisis.

                Under my Administration, tribal governments are not 
                alone in fighting the epidemic of violence against 
                American Indian and Alaska Native people. In October of 
                2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded more than 
                $270 million in grants to improve public safety, serve 
                victims of crime, combat violence against women, and 
                support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska 
                Native communities. The DOJ's Missing and Murdered 
                Indigenous Persons Initiative is placing coordinators 
                in 11 United States Attorneys' offices to develop 
                comprehensive law enforcement responses to missing 
                persons cases. These responses also include the use of 
                the Federal Bureau of Investigation's advanced 
                capabilities, enhanced data collection, and analysis to 
                support local efforts when required.

                The Department of the Interior (DOI) is also taking 
                action to address the critical concerns of American 
                Indian and Alaska Native communities. DOI's Bureau of 
                Indian Affairs has launched a series of ``Reclaiming 
                Our Native Communities'' roundtables focused on 
                domestic violence prevention of missing or murdered 
                American Indian and Alaska Native women, children, and 
                men. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice 
                Services (BIA-OJS) is equipping officers to handle 
                long-standing cold cases and child abduction 
                investigations, including positioning Special Agents on 
                cold-case task forces in strategic locations throughout 
                the country. BIA-OJS has partnered with the National 
                Missing and Unidentified Persons System to aid in 
                identifying missing persons cases involving Native 
                Americans.

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                Additionally, the Department of Health and Human 
                Services (HHS) has made the health and safety of 
                American Indian and Alaska Native communities a 
                priority. HHS is developing a comprehensive, whole-
                person approach for strengthening these vulnerable 
                populations through prevention, health, and education 
                activities. The Administration for Children and 
                Families (ACF) partners with tribes and tribal 
                organizations to strengthen responses to Native 
                American victims of domestic violence. ACF will soon 
                disburse $22 million to increase the public health 
                response and expand shelter and supportive services to 
                victims of family violence, domestic violence, and 
                dating abuse in tribal communities.

                To help bolster these efforts to address this terrible 
                crisis, last November, I was proud to sign an Executive 
                Order establishing Operation Lady Justice. This 
                interagency task force is developing an aggressive 
                government-wide strategy for ending the cycle of 
                violence and providing grants to improve public safety 
                in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The 
                task force is consulting with tribal leaders to develop 
                and strengthen investigative protocols to resolve new 
                and unsolved cases, improve information and data 
                sharing, establish best practices for communicating 
                with families throughout an investigation, and raise 
                public awareness through outreach to affected 
                communities.

                Tragically, violence is prevalent in tribal 
                communities, but we are determined to reverse this 
                unacceptable trend. Through partnerships across 
                Federal, State, and tribal governments, we are 
                aggressively working to ensure that members of tribal 
                communities can live lives free from fear of violence. 
                We will not waver in our mission to bring healing, 
                justice, hope, and restoration to our American Indian 
                and Alaska Native communities.

                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, 2020, as 
                Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska 
                Natives Awareness Day. I call upon all 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.

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                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand 
                twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of 
                America the two hundred and forty-fourth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2020-10076
Filed 5-7-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P