CHENEY, Wash. – Eastern Washington University (EWU) is hosting an awareness day addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People crisis on Sunday.
Regional leaders from several sovereign nations will speak and documentary clips explaining the impact of the crisis will be screened.
Professor Margo Hill, the associate director of EWU’s Small, Urban, Rural and Tribal Center on Mobility will open the event. Hill is a Spokane tribal citizen and has decades of judicial experience as an attorney and judge.
Yakima and Northern Arapaho representatives will also speak on the crisis.
A reading of missing and murdered indigenous people’s names followed by a closing ceremony is planned for 2 pm.
Several federal agencies have designated the missing and murdered indigenous women crisis as a national priority.
According to the US Department of the Interior, Native American and Alaska Native communities experience disproportionately high amounts of assault and abduction. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that indigenous women experienced the second highest rate of homicide in 2020.
Additional information on the crisis can be found here.
