The day culminated in an evening vigil at the State Capitol with hundreds in attendance, remarks from victims and their families and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
“California ranks fifth in the nation in unresolved and uninvestigated cases involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. Today we hold a joint legislative hearing to explore why that is so and the impact on the state’s tribal communities,” said Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), chair of the California Legislative Native American Caucus.
Two tribes have declared states of emergency because of the numbers of missing persons on their reservations: the Yurok Tribe and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
The Yurok Tribe took action in December 2021 and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians issued their declaration on April 25.
The National Institute of Justice reports that:
• 85% of native women experience violence in their lifetime;
• 56% have experienced sexual violence; and
• 75% of them experience it more than once in their lifetimes.
In 2016, the National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls in the United States, but only 116 of the cases were logged by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Ramos said a significant factor contributing to the disproportionate violence was passage of a 1953 federal law — Public Law 280 — that turned most criminal justice responsibility and funding for that responsibility over to six states, including California.
“That law resulted in fewer resources for tribal safety and great jurisdictional confusion among federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement,” Ramos said. “It also undermined public safety in communities neighboring reservations because cities and counties have fewer partners to rely upon when mutual assistance is needed.”
He added that the six states also had among the highest numbers of unresolved MMIP cases.
“Over 70 years ago, Public Law 280 stacked the deck against California tribes by denying tribes the full weight of the federal government and the resources needed to protect public safety,” said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). “I’m proud to have successfully urged the federal government to conduct the first-ever study to compare the criminal justice outcomes in PL-280 states versus non-PL-280 states, with a specific directive to look at how PL-280 undermines our MMIP efforts. I’m also fighting for dedicated federal dollars for Tribes in PL-280 states like California, so that we can begin to rectify the funding injustice caused by PL-280 and give tribal governments the resources they need.”
Joining Ramos at the news conference were Erica Pinto, Jamul Indian Village of California; Thomas Tortez, Desert Cahuilla Indians Chairman; Joe James, Yurok Tribal Chairman; Wilton Tribal Court Chief Judge Christine Williams; Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (D-Jackson); and Assemblymembers Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim), Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro), Marie Waldron (R-Valley Center) and Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas).
The morning gathering was followed by a joint hearing of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 on Public Safety and Select Committee on Native American Affairs. The hearing explored what tribes are doing to confront the issue, the MMIP impact on their communities.
The evening candlelight vigil featured victims and their families, the Capitol Dome illuminated in red and cultural songs. It is the second year that the candlelight vigil and dome illumination has occurred.