WHEREAS, Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is an Alaska Native tribal health and social services consortium established by the Interior Alaska tribes and tribal communities, to provide a unified voice in advancing sovereign tribal governments through the promotion of physical and mental wellness, education, socioeconomic development and culture of the Interior Alaska Native; and
WHEREAS, The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) refers to the human rights crisis which disproportionally impacts Indigenous people that are victims of violence, disappear without appropriate investigation, and murdered across all age and gender groups. Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) includes men, both crisis are important and separate issues, as there is additional history regarding ‘stolen sisters’ and victimization of Alaska Native women and girls; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice found that Alaska Native/American Indian (AN/AI) women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average. Homicide is the 3rd leading cause of death of Indigenous people ages 10-24, and the 4th leading cause of death of people ages 25-34. Four in five AN/AI women and girls experience violence in their lifetimes. Additionally, 86.1% of the perpetrators in the murders of AN/AI women were not intimate partner related. This incursion of violence onto our most sacred, must be spoken about and responded to now; and
WHEREAS, The impacts of colonialism and the continued oppression of Native communities creates historical and intergenerational trauma that continues to adversely affect Indigenous individuals, families, and communities; and
WHEREAS,According to the Violent Death Reporting System between 2015 and 2019, the AN/AI population (19% of Alaska’s overall population) make up 10% of the homicide victims and 5% of law enforcement intervention death victims, representing 40% of the overall violent deaths; and
WHEREAS,According to Data for Indigenous Justice, there are 149 missing women and 89 unsolved murder cases for a total of 229 families with no answers. The Urban Indian Health Institute also reported 506 cases across 71 urban cities, not including rural data. Of those cases, 128 were classified as ‘missing’, 280 classified as ‘murdered’, and 98 had ‘unknown statuses’. Anchorage, Alaska was identified as one of the highest reported MMIW cities during the research; and
WHEREAS, Due to inconsistent tracking and monitoring, these numbers are racially misclassified, underreported, and/or not tracked at all leading to disparities in data, which impacts how we are served by law enforcement. The investigation into these persons requires a high degree of commitment and cooperation among Tribal, State, and Federal law enforcement, that does not exist at this time; and
WHEREAS, Delayed investigation into deaths has led to many murders being mislabeled, mishandled and delayed which dishonors victims and endanger communities by leaving dangerous predators in our communities; and
WHEREAS, On November 26, 2019, the President of the United States, issued Executive Order 13898, Establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives to “enhance the operation of the criminal justice system and address the legitimate concerns of AN/AI communities regarding missing and murdered people – particularly missing and murdered indigenous women and girls” known as Operation Lady Justice; and
WHEREAS, There has been a significant increase in the amount of missing Alaska Native persons in Interior Alaska, and many of these missing persons cases have not been classified as criminal investigations, leaving the search responsibilities to the families; and
WHEREAS, The Interior tribes recognizes that domestic violence and sexual violence dehumanizes women and children and is the root cause of the MMIW crisis.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Tanana Chiefs Conference Full Board of Directors directs staff to coordinate with the state, federal, local, and tribal governments to develop an action plan which includes initiatives to:
- Swiftly respond to death or missing Native people through active criminal investigations and follow-up; and
- Increase information sharing and coordinated resources and research to develop best practices for conducting searches for missing persons in rural communities and in village hubs, including Fairbanks and Anchorage, developing standards on collection, reporting, and analysis of data on unidentified human remains, and guidelines stating all appropriate information related to MMIW & MMIP be entered in a timely manner into ALL applicable databases; and
- Immediately create a 1-800 statewide call in number to log all missing person’s cases with pertinent information, which will be inserted into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and National Missing Unidentified Persons System (NaMus) with established protocols no later than 72 hours from receiving the report; and
- Form a Missing Persons Taskforce including other Native entities to actively seek, and provide awareness to the community and further the mission of protecting our women, girls, and other Alaska Native persons at-risk of victimization and amplify search efforts through TCC communications and present progress at the 2022 TCC Annual Convention; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tanana Chiefs Conference Full Board of Directors acknowledge the differences in Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, which include children, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, which include men, and will address them together and separately when appropriate as best practices and research dictate.
Submitted by: Beaver Village Council, Healy Lake Council, Koyukuk Village Council
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