Heitkamp’s Savanna’s Act Advances in Senate Committee as New Report Sheds Light on Epidemic of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women

The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs today voted to advance Savanna’s Act, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp’s legislation to help address the epidemic of missing and murdered Native American women. Today’s hearing comes as a new report from the Urban Indian Health Institute finds extensive underreporting and shortcomings in understanding the crisis, reinforcing the need for urgency and broadened awareness to address it.

Named for Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, who was abducted and tragically killed last year in Fargo, Savanna’s Act builds on a bill Heitkamp and former U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) introduced and got signed into law to expand Amber alert warnings in Indian Country – where such alerts often do not exist – to help stop abductions. The Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on Savanna’s Act after Heitkamp introduced it last fall. 

“When I introduced Savanna’s Act, one of the main goals was to raise the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women to a national level and begin the conversation of how to address it. Today’s passage of Savanna’s Act in the Indian Affairs Committee is another important step forward, and a sign that this issue is closer to gaining the attention it deserves,” Heitkamp said. “Not only will the bill help make sure law enforcement has guidelines in place to respond to cases of those who go missing or are murdered, but it will also encourage law enforcement agencies to submit data on those cases annually to the Department of Justice. I was proud to help pass the AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act into law earlier this year to help protect Native children, and through Savanna’s Act and the #NotInvisible campaign the effort to give these issues the attention they deserve will continue.”