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Assembly adopts resolution designating May 2025 as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People awareness month
Summary
The California State Assembly unanimously adopted ACR 39, declaring May 2025 Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Awareness Month and calling for improved data, coordination and policy responses to violence against Native communities.
The California State Assembly adopted Assembly Concurrent Resolution 39, designating May 2025 as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People awareness month and urging renewed attention and action on violence against Native communities.
Assemblymember James Ramos, chair of the Legislative Native American Caucus and author of the resolution, told the chamber that state and national data show “84.3 of native women have experienced violence in their lifetime” and that "it's no longer an epidemic. This is a state of emergency within Indian country." Ramos said the measure is intended to elevate reporting, funding and policies that include tribal voices.
The resolution drew bipartisan support from multiple caucuses and lawmakers who said the measure is intended to raise visibility, improve data collection and strengthen interagency cooperation. Assemblymember Robert Garcia said the resolution “is not merely a symbolic gesture. It is a call to attention, a call to accountability, and a call to justice.” Assemblymember Schiavo told colleagues that trafficking networks “intentionally target indigenous communities, believing their crimes will go unreported,” and cited testimony from the legislature’s recent MMIP hearings.
Members described recent briefings and events — a select committee hearing, a tribal reception and candlelight vigils — and urged concrete follow-up. Speakers pointed to known challenges including jurisdictional confusion, underreporting, and the need to repatriate ancestral remains from institutional archives. Ramos cited testimony at a hearing and said repatriation and school policies rooted in assimilation remain issues "right in front of us today." Several members called for improved agency coordination between tribal, local and state law enforcement and better collection and classification of data.
All debate having ceased, the Clerk opened the roll on concurrence. The clerk later announced the tally: Aye 67, No 0. The resolution was adopted.
The resolution does not itself create new funding or statutes; it is a formal designation and a call to action directing attention to MMIP issues and urging follow-up by lawmakers and agencies.
