President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directs the government to begin addressing the many unsolved cases of murdered and missing Native American women and children.
A 2008 study found women in some tribal communities are 10 times more likely to be murdered than the average American.The National Crime Information Center said there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indians and Alaska Native women and girls in 2016 but only 116 of the cases were logged in the federal missing persons database.The executive order, called Operation Lady Justice, establishes a task force to combat the issue.
Native American leaders and Attorney General William Barr gathered around Trump in the Oval Office for the signing session.
Shannon Holsey, president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, said in a statement after the executive order was signed that it was an “important first step.””While there is so much that needs to be done to stop the violence perpetrated on Native women and girls, I appreciate the Administration for taking an important first step in establishing this Task Force,” Holsey said.The order created an interagency task force which will be led by the Department of Justice and Department of the Interior.Barr announced the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative during a visit with tribal leaders and law enforcement officials on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. The initiative will invest $1.5 million in hiring specialized coordinators in the offices of 11 U.S. attorneys who will be responsible for coming up with protocols for a more coordinated response to violence against indigenous people.
Contrast the reaction to the tribal leaders with those deriding Trump for signing a proclamation earlier this month honoring the nation’s founders.
President Donald Trump has continued with the tradition established by the late George H.W. Bush in 1990 to declare November national Native American Heritage Month. But a second proclamation he issued simultaneously at the end of October also declares November national American History and Founders Month — and that has sparked controversy.Soon after the proclamations were posted online on Halloween, some critics began expressing outrage on social media. Some incorrectly claimed the president had replaced the proclamation honoring Native Americans altogether with a new one celebrating the Founding Fathers.The second proclamation “celebrates the vibrant American spirit that drives our Nation to remarkable heights,” from “overthrowing tyrannical rule” and “liberating Europe from Nazi control” to “protecting precious religious liberties, securing our Nation’s borders” and “placing the first-ever man on the moon 50 years ago.”
Trump continues to embarrass his critics while taking care of our country . . . all while showing why his is the worst racist ever.
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