What do the red dresses mean

For the 3rd year in a row, EUMC is participating in an international day of remembrance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women on May 5th. We honor this day by displaying an exhibit of red dresses outside on the front lawn. Every dress represents the life of an Indigenous Woman who is missing, murdered or unaccounted for. Historically and today, cases of MMIW have been ignored by local law enforcement and left unsolved.

Why should we care about this at EUMC?

The state of Washington and the City of Seattle have the highest such cases in the country. However, that is changing with new aggressive laws that provide resources and services for all law enforcement agencies in the state, including tribal law enforcement, to work together. Today Washington state is one of the leaders in solving MMIW and persons cases.

New steps taken to solve MMIW cases in WA

• December 2021, Washington state set up a taskforce to assess systemic causes for the MMIWP crisis and determine effective solutions. Funding for task force has been extended through 2025.

• As of October 27, 2023, a total of 72 missing Indigenous person alerts were issued, and 65 of the individuals were located. Tragically, two individuals were found deceased and 5 still missing.

• In 2023, in part in response to recommendations from the MMIW Task Force, the Washington Legislature created and funded an MMIWP Cold Case Unit within the AGO. The purpose of the team is to assist federal, municipal, county, and tribal law enforcement agencies in solving missing person and cold homicide cases involving persons of Indigenous ancestry who go missing and are murdered at a higher rate than other demographics. It is the first unit of its kind in the nation.

THE FACTS:

• Native American women go missing ten times more often than any other group in this country.

• The National Crime Information Center reports that, in 2022, there were 5,487 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, although the US Department of Justice's federal missing person database, the January 2024 report from NamUs, only logged 840 cases!

• Murder is the third leading cause of death for native women.

• 4 out of 5 Native American Women are affected by violence

• Most MMIW cases get buried in police department files and go unsolved.

• Seattle is working hard to drop from having the highest number of missing and murdered cases of Indigenous women in the country.

Awareness leads to action

• Learn about the problem in our state and our country. Research and share information. Go to nativehope.org

Racial Justice Team