Colorado Politics

Task force holds first meeting on missing and murdered American Indians

On Wednesday, the Trump Administration’s task force on missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives met in Washington, D.C. to begin discussing the development of protocols to solve more than 5,700 cold cases and address new ones.

President Donald Trump created the seven-member task force and charged it with presenting a final report by November 2021. The members’ responsibilities will include sorting out jurisdictional roles and consult with tribal governments on the scope of the problem.

“The disappearance and death of American Indian and Alaska Native people, particularly women and girls, is an especially tragic chapter in a long story of marginalization and trauma suffered by native people,” said U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr, who co-chairs the group along with U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt.

A 2018 report from the Urban Indian Health Institute, a division of the Seattle Indian Health Board, found that as of 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. The U.S. Department of Justice’s missing persons database only contained 2% of those cases.

Colorado has a native population of approximately 80,000 in the Front Range, which is increasing because of programming and support services offered there, The Colorado Sun reports.

The institute cataloged 12 cases in Denver of missing and murdered women. One of the women, Dawn DeHerrera, was killed in a massage parlor in 2003. The Denver Police Department is still asking for tips to locate her murderer. Denver is among the top 10 cities in the country with cases not entered in any law enforcement database.

Emergency Response
(Photo by MattGush, iStock)
Tags

PREV

PREVIOUS

CU researchers find link between low birth weights, physician decisions

A new study from two University of Colorado researchers found that birth weights among U.S. infants have declined in recent years as Cesarean sections and labor inductions have become more common. “Our data indicate that there has been a dramatic shift in birth timing in this country,” said Ryan Masters, one of the authors. “It […]

NEXT

NEXT UP

American Indian College Fund announces STEM scholarship for women

The American Indian College Fund on Thursday announced a new scholarship program for women earning college degrees in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. The four-year, $300,000 grant will “help grow the number of Native American women – a group with the lowest representation in the STEM fields,” the Denver-based Fund said […]


Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests