The following is a press release issued by the Office of Assemblymembers James C. Ramos:
Tribal leaders, Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-Highland) and Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) and law enforcement representatives gather at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 6 to learn about implementation of a new law notifying the public when California Native American persons go missing. Ramos authored the measure, AB 1314, known as the Feather Alert, similar to other notification systems such as the AMBER or Silver Alerts used when children are abducted or missing or when seniors are missing.
Violence against Native American people—and in particular against women and girls—is a persistent crisis facing tribes across the country. Indigenous women are currently victims of murder at rates more than 10 times the national average. California, with more Native Americans than any other state, has the sixth highest death rate of indigenous women in urban areas, and crimes against Native American women are seven times less likely to be solved than any other demographic. The new Feather Alert system will help law enforcement more quickly notify the public and produce leads to help find the missing individuals.
WHO: Assemblymembers James C. Ramos and Jim Wood; California Lt. Justin Howlett from the California Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center; Merri Lopez-Keifer, state Attorney General’s director of Native American Affairs; Tribal Chairpersons Sonny J. Elliott, Sr, Hopland Band of Pomo Indians; Debra Ramirez, Redwood Valley Little River Band of Pomo Indians; Mary Norris, Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria; Sherry Treppa, Lake County Habematolel Band of Pomo Indians; Tisha Jones, Manchester-Point Arena Band of Pomo Indians; Vice Chairpersons Diana Billy-Elliott, ASW and Richard Campbell, Jr, Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians; Sheriffs Matt Kendall, County of Mendocino and William Honsal, Humboldt County/Chair, California State Sheriffs’ Association Tribal Issues Committee Chair; Chief of Police John Rodriguez, Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians State Department; representatives from Office of U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)
WHAT: Roundtable discussion about implementation of Feather Alert notification systemand cultural presentations
WHEN: Thursday, July 6 1 p.m. to 3:55 p.m. Roundtable Discussion
3:55 p.m. to 5 p.m. Cultural Presentations
WHERE: Coyote Valley Casinos, Shodakai Showroom
77 Coyote Valley Blvd.
Redwood Valley, CA 95470
Hopefully they can implement some reporting system that encourages victims of domestic violence to report every act against them. Most homicides have several less violent acts leading up to a crisis state where they are murdered.