WA Leg Approves New Alert System For Missing Indigenous Women

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington's legislature has signed off on a new proposal to create an alert system for missing or endangered Indigenous women.

After passing unanimously in the Washington House of Representatives, the Senate and the House again (with the addition of a new amendment) House Bill 1725 is heading to the governor's desk for final approval.

If Inslee signs off on the legislation, it would create a new alert system similar to current "silver alerts" — issued when vulnerable adults go missing — broadcasting information about the missing person on message boards and highway advisory radio messages, and sending information to local media for distribution. Silver alerts are used in 37 states and have a proven track record, with a success rate over 90 percent in some states.

It would be the first alert system in the nation specifically designed to help missing or murdered Indigenous women.

The bill was requested by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, and sponsored by Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Anacortes) who argue the program is necessary to protect Washington's population of indigenous women.

“We must do everything we can to address the epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous women and people in the state,” Ferguson said. “This alert system will provide a way to quickly and safely locate anyone who goes missing. I look forward to seeing the governor sign this into law.”

Indigenous women and people go missing and are murdered at rates higher than any other ethnic group in the United States, the Attorney General's Office said. In Washington specifically, indigenous women are over four times more likely to go missing than white women, a study by the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle found. They are also two and a half times more likely to experience sexual assault, and nearly half of Indigenous women in America have been raped, beaten, or stalked, according to state data.

“Too many Indigenous mothers, sisters, wives and daughters have been torn from their families and their children raised without mothers," said Rep. Lekanoff. "This crisis impacts every one of our families and communities and it takes collaboration among all governing bodies, law enforcement and media to bring awareness and stop these horrific crimes.”

The proposal is part of a longstanding effort from Ferguson's office to address disproportionate violence against Indigenous women. Last year, Ferguson helped create the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIW/P) Task Force, a 23-member task force which will outline steps the state can take to better prevent violence against indigenous women and people.