‘Savanna’s Act’ awaiting Trump signature

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 9/23/20

Native American women experience violence at disproportionately high rates. In 2016 alone, 5,712 missing and murdered Indigenous women cases were reported, yet of those cases, the Urban Indian Health Institute found that only 116 were logged in the Department of Justice database. Savanna’s Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Greg Gianforte, addresses the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. It unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives Monday and is awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature. The bill is named after Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a pregnant, 22-year-old Spirit Lake tribal member who was killed in 2017.