Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan calls President Trump’s special task force on missing and murdered indigenous women a “very important first step” — but Flanagan points out the Republican-controlled U-S Senate still has not reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act. “The true test of the commitment of the administration in D-C will be that we pass a Violence Against Women Act that absolutely includes the protection of Native American women and girls,” she says.
The National Rifle Association reportedly has objections to the bill. A move last week to bring the measure up for a vote failed in the U-S Senate.
Flanagan says she’s encouraged by the Trump administration putting specialists in federal prosecutors’ offices to address an epidemic of missing and murdered Native American women. But Flanagan stresses, “It’s critically important that consultation happens with tribes, that the urban and Native community are involved throughout this entire process.”