New law in S.D. aims to address epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women; other states working on it too

A new law in South Dakota aims to address the epidemic of missing and murdered Native American women in the state. There is no official count of such cases, which are often unreported or slip through the cracks of the justice system. The new law, which went into effect July 1, requires "the state Division of Criminal Investigation to collect data on missing and murdered indigenous people, and create procedures and training for investigating cases involving women and children," Lisa Kaczke reports for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls.

Republican Sen. Lynne DiSanto of Box Elder, who sponsored the unanimously supported bill, said she hopes the law helps families feel like the state cares about the victims, and hopes it improves collaboration between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement, Kaczke reports.

"Native women have been dehumanized or sexualized and the media has historically solidified those stereotypes," Kaczke writes. "Native American communities also struggle with alcohol, drugs and poverty, which can factor into the belief that Native women aren't important."

Republican Rep. Tamara St. John, a historian for the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, told Kaczke she doesn't think law enforcement is deliberately not helping, but said "Native women can be perceived as marginalized and outside scope of the American justice system and for that reason, can be easily targeted or a family won't be assisted."

South Dakota isn't the only state trying to address the issue. North Dakota passed similar bills, Montana created a missing persons specialist to look into it, and Minnesota just enacted a new law that creates a task force on missing and murdered indigenous women, Kaczke reports. A recent University of Montana School of Journalism package brought attention to the phenomenon as well.

National governments are taking action too. A yearslong government inquiry in Canada recently released a huge report on human rights abuses against indigenous women. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is trying to pass a law to address the issue as well. "Savanna's Act, which would require the federal Department of Justice to develop protocols for cases involving missing and murdered Native Americans, was reintroduced earlier this year after stalling in Congress last year, and a hearing on the federal bill took place earlier this month," Kaczke reports.