Illustration with depictions of percentages of men and women who will experience violence in their lifetime.

Native American Tribes in California are slated to begin a range of projects in conjunction with the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Grant Program. California awarded nearly $13 million in grants to support 15 projects led by Tribes or Tribal collaborations to address the MMIP crisis. The projects are designed to develop culturally based prevention strategies, strengthen community outreach, and improve responsiveness in missing persons cases. The Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria plans to focus on youth programming, including establishing events to help youth understand the risks of trafficking. The Yurok Tribe’s grant includes hiring a full-time MMIP victim advocate, while the Round Valley Indian Tribe is eyeing a modular office building to use as an MMIP headquarters. The Pala Band of Mission Indians’ plans include purchasing a drone and providing training for volunteer search and rescue. The California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) approved the grants under a program established in 2022. 

Hawaiian lawmakers launched a task force to gather data and study the impact of sex trafficking on Native women and children. Researchers found that 64% of sex trafficking victims are Native Hawaiians. Local activists blame tourism and the lack of law enforcement resources to stop the widespread abuse across the islands. “If there’s no data, there’s no problem,” said Khara Jabola-Carolus, Executive Director of the Hawaii State Commission on the State of Women. She added concrete numbers are needed to understand the scope of the problem. In 2020, the Hawaii Attorney General established a human trafficking coordinator to develop training and increase the number of prosecutions.