The University of Wyoming is sponsoring a virtual event on Wednesday, May 5 to bring regional attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women issue.
May 5 is National Day of Awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Indigenous people and allies all over Indian Country will wear red to show support in solidarity of the disproportionate number of Indigenous women who go missing every year.
Wind River State Sen. Andi Clifford is the virtual panel's moderator. Clifford said she wants to look at how past legislation can be improved upon to help families and victims of these crimes, and ask questions, like, "is there and other legislation that needs to be amended or created? Or other laws that need to be repealed to enhance this MMIP bill that we passed in the 2020 budget session?" she said.
The state of Wyoming released a study earlier this year that showed lack of accurate data records on Indigenous people who are victims of violence.
Clifford said she not only wants this panel to discuss possible actions with veterans of the cause, but also make the panel accessible to people new to the conversation.
"If we get a lot of Q and A's that we can't get to, they [the organizers] are open and flexible to hosting another panel after this to continue the conversation" she said.
The event features a group of Native women including Cheryl Horn (Assiniboine), Lynette Grey Bull (Northern Arapaho), North Dakota State Sen. Ruth Anna Buffalo (Citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation) and Lynette St. Clair (Eastern Shoshone).