SENATE MEMORIAL 18

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2022

INTRODUCED BY

Shannon D. Pinto

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

HONORING THE FAMILIES OF MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND RELATIVES AND EXPRESSING UNWAVERING SUPPORT TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS VIOLENCE AGAINST MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND RELATIVES.

 

     WHEREAS, the welfare of New Mexican indigenous women, children and relatives is connected to the broader well-being, health and safety of all New Mexicans; and

     WHEREAS, the missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives crisis in New Mexico and beyond is inextricably rooted in the larger, complex history of state-sanctioned colonial violence against indigenous people; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico missing persons information clearinghouse data research analysis conducted in New Mexico between 2014 and 2019 reported nine hundred eighty-six missing person cases, ninety-seven percent of which remained unsolved and sixteen percent of which involve indigenous persons; and

     WHEREAS, the 2020 New Mexico missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives task force reported that Albuquerque and Gallup, New Mexico, are among the top ten cities in the United States for the highest number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls; and

     WHEREAS, Native American women in New Mexico have the highest rate of homicide victims among all racial and ethnic groups; and

     WHEREAS, tribal nations across the United States face continued external threats that jeopardize tribal sovereignty and the well-being and safety of indigenous women, children and relatives; and

     WHEREAS, it is critical that data be accurately reported and captured and that more research be done to fully understand the scope of the missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives crisis to formulate appropriate recommendations for justice; and

     WHEREAS, in response to this ongoing crisis, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed executive order 2021-013 establishing the New Mexico missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives task force; and

     WHEREAS, the task force was created to develop a state response plan addressing systemic changes that support prevention, reporting and investigation of incidents of missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives; and

     WHEREAS, the task force meets monthly with goals of developing a state response plan and the continued collection of data from law enforcement agencies for 2020 missing persons data, homicide data and accidental deaths; and

     WHEREAS, in December 2021, the Indian affairs department and the Bernalillo county district attorney's office entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a specialized missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives task force with a special subunit to help solve cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the families of missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives be honored; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that support continue to be given to address violence against missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of Indian affairs, the twenty-three federally recognized Native American tribes of New Mexico, the governor and the chair of the New Mexico missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives task force.

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