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Show A-18 Sat/Sun/Mon, December 28-30, 2019 The Park Record LIVE LUXURY Your best life begins with a home that inspires you. Idaho lags behind in effort to curb violence against indigenous women Homicide is third leading cause of death for group CYNTHIA SEWELL Idaho Statesman KELLY ROGERS 435.640.7600 Global Real Estate Advisor Kelly@LuxuryParkCityRealEstate.com www.LuxuryParkCityRealEstate.com ©MMXVIII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Copyright© Summit Sotheby’s International Realty 2018. BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A cascading tower of 75 red dresses suspends from the ceiling of a gallery in the Boise State Student Union Building. The exhibit, featuring dresses students collected from women at the university and in the community, “aims to bring to social consciousness those women who have been hidden and unseen before.” Those hidden and unseen women? Missing and murdered indigenous women, or MMIW. The numbers are staggering, Roof Top Snow Removal Local Park City news every Wednesday and Saturday Call 435–649–9014 to subscribe today! the Idaho Statesman reports: Nationwide, homicide is the third-leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women under the age of 20 and the sixth leading cause of death for those between 20 and 44 years of age, according to a 2016 Centers for Disease Control study. Eighty-four percent of Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, according to a 2016 Department of Justice study. Studies have also found that on some reservations, Native American women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average and, in the majority of cases, violence against Native American women is perpetuated by non-Native American men, according to a National Congress of American Indians report. Indigenous women are not only being attacked on reservations. A 2018 Urban Indian Health Institute study of 71 urban cities across 29 states identified 506 cases of missing or murdered indigenous women, with Seattle, Washington; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Anchorage, Alaska; Tucson, Arizona; and Billings, Montana, reporting the highest numbers of MMIW. These statistics, though, do not tell the whole picture. They are incomplete due to lack of reporting at the federal, state and tribal levels. More than likely, the number of missing and murdered indigenous women in this country is much higher than these studies show. But these scant and incomplete statistics have caught the attention of lawmakers, governors and tribal leaders across the country. In 2019, Congress and at least eight Western states enacted legislation or executive orders pertaining to the missing and murdered indigenous women crisis, which is being called an epidemic. Idaho is not yet among those states. Are there any missing or murdered indigenous women in Idaho? If so, how many? The answer is sobering: No one knows. But, this fall, some initial steps were taken to find out. Red dress for Ashlynne The 2016 kidnapping and murder of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico served as a catalyst for Navajo sisters Tanyka Begaye and Chenoa Hayes-Begaye. The sisters, who are from Arizona, attend Boise State University, where they serve as president and vice president of the student Intertribal Native Council. “For us, it was really sparked with Ashlynne Mike because she was from our own community,” Begaye said. “We always think about her story when we go back to the reservation.” “After Ashlynne Mike’s murder a lot of people started coming forward with all their stories of what happened in their own families,” Begaye said. “From there, people started realizing how often it happens.” “That is why we started the red dress project,” she said. Hayes-Begaye explained their project is inspired by Canadian artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project, which focuses on the issue or missing or murdered indigenous women in Canada. The empty dresses honor the missing and slain women. “We do not want them to be forgotten. We want their stories to be continued to be heard,” she said. Idaho takes notice Idaho is home to five tribes: Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai, Nez Perce, Shoshone-Bannock and Shoshone-Paiute. The Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai and Nez Perce reservations are located in north Idaho, the Shoshone-Bannock in east Idaho and the Shoshone-Paiute on Duck Valley on the southwest Idaho/Nevada border. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 2% of Idaho’s population is Native American, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian. “I am fearful for the youth on our reservation,” Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Chairman Ladd Edmo said during an Oct. 3 Ida- ho Legislature Council of Indian Affairs Committee meeting. “I have a 17-year-old daughter. I am strongly afraid that she could be a victim just because she is out in life enjoying her time.” The interim legislative committee comprises representatives from each of Idaho’s five tribes along with Sens. Jim Guthrie, R-Inkom, and Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise; Reps. Neil Anderson, R-Blackfoot, and Chris Abernathy, D-Pocatello; and Bobbi-Jo Meuleman, Gov. Brad Little’s director of intergovernmental affairs. During the meeting, the committee heard a presentation on MMIW from Martha Saenz of the National Council of State Legislatures. “What we know about missing and murdered indigenous women is that we don’t know enough. But the information we do have is quite startling, “ Saenz told the committee. Following the presentation, committee members discussed whether Idaho needs to look into the issue to determine if this is occurring in Idaho and if so, the next steps. “We lack the data across the state and in our tribal system to track these kinds in incidents,” Shoshone-Bannock Chairman Edmo told the committee. Nez Perce Chairman Shannon Wheeler said his tribe has been collecting some data. “We could provide it to start the ball rolling.” The committee members unanimously agreed to recommend to Gov. Little to conduct a study or convene a task force to determine how many, if any, missing or murdered indigenous women Idaho has. Little agreed. “Ensuring the safety and security of all Idahoans, including tribal members, from violence is a primary function of state government,” Little’s press secretary Marissa Morrison Hyer told the Statesman. “In response to the Council on Indian Affairs’ request, the Governor’s Office directed the Please see Scope, A-20 SKI & APRÈS AT YOUR DOORSTEP RESERVE YOUR SEAT AT THE POOL EVERYTHING YOU NEED, STEPS FROM THE CHAIRLIFTS Inquire online or call 435.659.8993 Walk to the lift and the Canyon Village’s hottest new restaurants. Come home to a sociable backyard with a pool and hot tub. The best of Park City at your doorstep. FULLY FURNISHED RESIDENCES FROM THE LOW 300,000s $ All renderings and illustrative maps are conceptual only and subject to change. The developer reserves the right to make any modifications and changes as deemed necessary. 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