Presidential Document2024-10533
Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, 2024
Primary source
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Published
May 13, 2024
Signed
May 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 41297-41298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10533]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 41297]]
Proclamation 10752 of May 3, 2024
Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness
Day, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
For decades, Native communities across this continent
have been devastated by an epidemic of disappearances
and killings, too often without resolution, justice, or
accountability. On Missing or Murdered Indigenous
Persons Awareness Day, we honor the individuals missing
and the lives lost, and we recommit to working with
Tribal Nations to end the violence and inequities that
drive this crisis, delivering safety and healing.
Across Indian Country, justice for the missing has been
elusive for too long. Too many Native families know the
pain of a loved one being declared missing or murdered,
and women, girls, and LGBTQI+ and Two-Spirit
individuals are bearing the brunt of this violence. In
the depths of their grief, the work of investigating
these disappearances, demanding justice, and fighting
for the hopeful return of their loved ones has fallen
on the shoulders of families. Legions of brave
activists have sought to change that. We need to
provide greater resources and ensure the accountability
that every community deserves.
During my first year in office, I signed an Executive
Order directing Federal agencies to join Tribal Nations
in responding to this crisis with new urgency. Since
then, the Department of Justice and the Department of
the Interior have worked together to accelerate
investigations and bring families closure in ways that
respect their cultures and the trauma they have
endured. The Department of the Interior created a unit
dedicated to this work, and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation has hired personnel to focus on these
cases and ensure that victims' families are heard
throughout this process. Further, as a result of an
effort spearheaded by Secretary of the Interior Deb
Haaland when she was in the Congress, Federal agencies
are responding to and implementing the recommendations
of the Not Invisible Act Commission--a commission
composed of loved ones of missing or murdered
individuals, law enforcement, Tribal leaders, Federal
partners, service providers, and survivors of gender-
based violence--to combat this epidemic. We will
continue working with the governments of Canada and
Mexico through the Trilateral Working Group on Violence
Against Indigenous Women and Girls to make sure our
efforts are coordinated and incorporate Tribal input.
At the same time, we are supporting efforts within the
community to crack down on gender-based violence in
Indian Country. We reauthorized the Violence Against
Women Act (VAWA) in 2022, which included historic
provisions to strengthen Tribal sovereignty and safety,
expanding Tribal jurisdiction to include prosecution of
non-Native perpetrators of stalking, sexual assault,
sex trafficking, and child abuse for crimes committed
on Tribal lands. Further, my Administration invested in
training for law enforcement and Federal court officers
to ensure they respond to cases of gender-based
violence through a trauma-informed and culturally
responsive approach. My new Budget designates $800
million for the Department of Justice to support VAWA
programs, including a new grant program that will work
to address the missing or murdered Indigenous persons
crisis.
[[Page 41298]]
The United States has made a solemn promise to fulfill
its trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations and
to help rebuild Tribal economies and institutions.
Ending this devastating epidemic is an important piece
of that work. Today, we mourn with the families who
have lost a piece of their soul to this crisis, and we
honor the Indigenous activists and advocates who have
summoned the courage to shine light on the tragedy.
Their actions have already saved countless lives.
Together, we will resolve these unanswered questions
and build a future for everyone based on safety,
security, and self-determination.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2024,
as Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness
Day. I call on all Americans and ask all levels of
government to support Tribal governments and Tribal
communities' efforts to increase awareness and address
the issues of missing or murdered Indigenous persons
through appropriate programs and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
third day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand
twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-10533
Filed 5-10-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 13, 2024.
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