A bill that would allocate resources, collect better data and be a resource for Indigenous families when their loved ones go missing is headed to Gov. Kevin Stitt's desk for a signature.
Senate Bill 172 is also known as Ida's Law, named after 29-year-old Cheyenne-Arapaho woman Ida Beard, who went missing in 2015.
Too often, when an Indigenous person ends up missing or is found murdered, family members have a hard time getting answers from the maze of law enforcement agencies because of jurisdictional complexity. This law aims to solve that by creating the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.
Representative Collin Walke, a Cherokee citizen and former vice chair of the Native American Caucus, said this step is overdue and will increase confidence in law enforcement and help victims' families stay informed.
"They would help coordinate that as well and reaching out and working with the Indigenous communities themselves because oftentimes, there is a lack of trust," said Walke.
According to the organization Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, four out of five Indigenous women are affected by violence and face murder rates 10 times the national average.
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