Chairman Thomas Fowler:
I would be remiss if I failed to highlight and bring to the forefront awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and relatives as a public health crisis. A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that nearly 85% of American Indian and Alaskan Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, including over 54% have experienced sexual violence. Other reports indicate that there is no reliable count of just how many Native women go missing or are killed each year because there is not enough adequate research.