Murkowski: We Must Have a Sense of Urgency to Keep Native Women and Girls Safe

Statement

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke on the Senate floor to highlight the growing crisis of missing, trafficked, and murdered indigenous women across the nation and the need to both understand the scope of the problem and address coordination between our state, federal, and tribal governments. Senator Murkowski emphasized how Native women are victims of violence in unprecedented proportions, the lack of updated data, and her legislative efforts to address the epidemic. Murkowski appreciated the attention the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is giving the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and urged her colleagues to move beyond awareness to action.

In her remarks, Senator Murkowski shared stories of missing and murdered Alaska Native women, including 52 year old Veronica Abouchuk who was originally from the village of St. Michael. She had been reported missing in February and was found dead months later. Last week, family and friends packed an Anchorage courtroom for the arraignment of the man charged with her murder. The same man accused of killing Veronica is also charged in the torture and murder last month of 30 year old Kathleen Jo Henry--originally from the village of Eek. Unfortunately, disproportionate numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women have never received justice or resolution. The Abouchuk family previously experienced the loss of one of their sisters, Martha Toms, who was killed in 2005 and whose case is still unsolved.

"These are women who we read of what they have experienced, what they have endured, and think about their families that no longer have these women in their life. And you just view them in the abstract as statistics. So what we are doing to respond to them as women, women that are vulnerable and are being preyed upon--what are we doing to act to help? We have a trust responsibility to Native people, but we have a duty of moral trust when we talk about keeping all Americans safe. And we all have to be part of the solution." Senator Murkowski said. "So I am back here on the Senate floor with the same message that I had a couple of years ago with Senator Heitkamp and that is to urge colleagues to move beyond awareness to action. Let's take up Savanna's act. Let's take up the Not Invisible Act. Let's act. Let's provide for the safety that all these women should expect."

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