President Biden proclaims Thursday as Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day

Thursday marks a national day for missing and murdered indigenous persons across the nation. 

President Joe Biden signed a proclamation for Thursday, trying to draw attention to the thousands of unsolved cases involving missing or murdered indigenous people in the country. 

"The Federal Government has an obligation to ensure that cases of missing or murdered persons are met with swift and effective action," the proclamation reads. "My Administration is fully committed to investigating and resolving these cases through a coordinated law enforcement response, as well as intervention and prevention efforts.  We are also dedicated to researching the underlying causes of this violence and to working with Native communities to address them."

Washington state has already taken the lead on solving these mysteries. 

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'I’ve been waiting for this:' Families react to missing Indigenous persons alert system law

Research conducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute states Seattle has some of the highest rates of murdered Indigenous women in the U.S. The researchers also found Tacoma has some of the highest numbers of missing Indigenous people.

The state is the first in the nation to create an alert system to help find missing indigenous people.

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There are more than 110 women missing in Washington state, and those numbers could be higher as many cases are unreported. The cases of missing men also often go unheard. 

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Washington OKs first statewide missing Indigenous people alert system

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday signed into law a bill that creates a first-in-the-nation statewide alert system for missing Indigenous people.

Last month, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a new alert system into law. It will broadcast information about missing indigenous people, similar to the silver alert. 

This will include messages on highway reader signs, advisory radio channels and regional media with notifications to help find them.