WASHINGTON — State Attorney General Bob Ferguson opened the first meeting of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force Thursday morning, beginning a day worth of remarks from survivors, family members and community members who say they want to see action and justice.
Lawmakers created the task force to organize a statewide response to the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who have gone missing, been murdered or experienced domestic violence.
While the task force is new, the issue isn't. KING 5 has spoken with a number of families and advocates who spoke to the presence of a crisis- and the need for change.
This new development does put a number of representatives from across the state in the same room working to identify challenges regarding data and reporting practices and devise recommendations for addressing problems.
The Attorney General's office says twenty-three members have been appointed to the Task Force, including four elected officials, representatives from the Yakama, Puyallup, Kalispel and Lummi nations along with several other organizers and community members. A full list of task force members can be found here.
You can watch day two of the meeting Friday here.