FERNDALE, Wash. – Washington is grappling with a crisis of that is impacting the entire country. An upcoming summit in Ferndale hopes to address that problem.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) says that poor resources for tribal police departments and the failure of overlapping local law enforcement agencies to coordinate missing persons response are to blame.
A March DOJ report copublished with the US Department of the Interior argued that lawmakers should allocate more funding to the issue given that Indigenous women experienced the second highest national rate of homicide in 2020.
Hosted by Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Office, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) Task Force Summit will bring together tribal police, leaders and advocates.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the event will share the work of the state’s MMIWP Task Force, which was formed by the state legislature in 2021 with the goal of sending a report addressing the crisis to the governor’s office and policy leaders by June 2025.
Members of the taskforce include Puyallup Tribal Council member Anna Bean, Lower Elwha Police Department Chief Sam White and State Senator Manka Dhingra (D).
On a federal level, US Senator Maria Cantwell (D) has proposed a law which would boost funding for tribal police, but it has stagnated since it was introduced in the Senate last year. Given that she is a senior member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee,
In addition to discussing public safety solutions, the event will also include a family healing circle for the loved-ones of missing or murdered indigenous peoples.
