SEATTLE — For years, tribal leaders and activists have called for more attention to the fact that their members go missing at a much higher rate than the general public.
That's where the acronym MMIWP originates. It stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People.
Indigenous women are murdered at rates 10 times the national average in some jurisdictions, according to a recent federal survey cited by the Attorney General’s Office.
Washington state has the second-highest number of missing Indigenous people in the United States. Indigenous women and people go missing more than four times more than white women, according to research conducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle.
The issue has garnered increased attention in recent years, both in Washington state and across the country.
May 5 is now observed as a day of awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Washington lawmakers have passed bills to take a number of actions, including adding two tribal liaisons at the Washington State Patrol, creating a statewide alert -- the first of its kind -- and forming a state task force.
Next, legislators may form a cold case unit within the attorney general's office to investigate these cases more closely. The unit would help local and tribal law enforcement solve MMIWP cold cases and include investigators and family liaisons.
To learn more about the statewide alert and see current missing cases, click here.