Fresno State will host the fourth annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls + Relatives Vigil from 5 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 5, at the Peace Garden next to the campus library.
Registration starts at 4 p.m. for the free event that is open to the public, which will bring together community members, vendors and drum circles to honor the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives. Attendees are encouraged to wear red.
The community gathering will include remembrances, advocacy work and updates on efforts to create systems of response throughout Fresno County social services, police and the Mayor’s Office.
A grassroots movement for the safety of Indigenous women led to the Safety for Indian Women section of Title IX of the Violence Against Women Act, which was passed in 2013. One of the findings of related research showed that during the period of 1979 through 1992, homicide was the third-leading cause of death of Native American women aged 15 to 34.
The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Report, released in 2019 by the Urban Indian Health Institute, showed Fresno had the fifth-highest number of cases among 71 urban cities in the United States.
The Fresno State American Indian Studies Program will host the event with the North Fork Mono Tribe, Fresno American Indian Health Project, Inter-Tribal Council of California, Big Sandy Rancheria and Tachi Yokut Tribe.
May 5 is the national day of awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, which was first recognized nationwide in 2017. California first recognized the day in 2019 and acknowledged May to be Missing and Murdered Indigenous Awareness Month in 2023 through the passage of California Assembly Bill ACR-25, which raised awareness and the need to create measures to prevent future injustices. The City of Fresno and County of Fresno adopted proclamations in support of putting resources in place at the local level.
The City of Fresno has also taken steps in the restoration of Native American Indian traditions and policies. Besides legislating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls + Relatives Vigil and Indigenous Peoples’ Day, it supports the Fresno American Indian Health Project and the Owens Valley Career Development Center to strengthen the safety, health and well-being of Indigenous women, and to prioritize community investment and cultural revitalization.
INFO: Xochitl Gutierrez, xgutierrez@nfr-nsn.gov, More information
