HARTFORD, Conn. — Monday, state lawmakers gathered with tribal nation leaders to honor Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Recognition Day at the Connecticut state capitol.
“There is an overwhelming disparity that is rooted in discrimination,” said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.
Officials say homicide is the third leading cause of death among Indigenous women, ages 10 to 24.
“We have the smallest percentage of a population in the US, but we have the largest crime rate,” explained Brenda Geer, vice chairwoman of the Eastern Pequot.
Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than other women and 16 times more likely to be killed or to disappear than white women.
In Connecticut, while Native Americans represent only half of 1% of the population, 83% of them were victims of crime in 2022.
“The history of this country is deeply entwined with violence against indigenous people, and if we do not acknowledge that, we can't change these statistics,” state Sen. Mae Flexer, (D-Brooklyn) said.
Advocates and lawmakers are also pushing for a bipartisan bill to designate May 5 as “Red Dress Day” in Connecticut.
“The red dresses behind me are nothing to celebrate,” said Flexer. “They represent the hundreds of Native American women who are murdered, or go missing every year in the United States of America.”
The bill to mark Red Dress Day passed the House last month and now awaits action in the Senate. If passed, advocates say Connecticut would be the thirteenth state to recognize Red Dress Day.
“It stands for the oppression of native women who are now rising up to say, no more stolen sisters,” Geer added.
This project began in Canada and later spread to the U.S.
The dresses have been installed in public spaces throughout North America as a visual reminder of what advocates say is the staggering number of women who are gone.
“My community has witnessed the disappearance and deaths of so many, just like many across this nation, and this issue is not partisan, it's personal,” said Prairie Rose Seminole, co-director of We Ride With Her.
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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