A new bill would create a “Feather Alert” system for the public and media to stem disproportionate violence and abductions of California Indians.
AB 1314, by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland), would create a state Endangered Missing Advisory, or EMA, system when Native Americans are at risk.
On Tuesday, the State Senate Public Safety voted 5-0 to pass the bill following a hearing.
Currently, law enforcement agencies use the EMA to investigate suspicious disappearances of at-risk missing children or other threatened persons.
The California Highway Patrol’s website states, “EMAs provide immediate information to the public to aid in the swift recovery of at-risk persons.”
In April, Washington state approved similar legislation, and Colorado is considering implementing an alert program.
In California, a case used as an example of why the new system is needed comes from Mendocino County.
On Feb. 8, 2018, Khadijah Rose Britton, age 23, joined hundreds of Native American women who are missing.
Witnesses saw her leave a party at gunpoint in Covelo. but it took days for law enforcement to treat the disappearance as suspicious.
More than four years later the young woman’s family continues searching for her and believe more could have been done at an earlier point in Britton’s disappearance.
“My bill, AB 1314, would help us get the word out sooner when an individual is missing or endangered by asking the public for tips and leads as quickly as possible when quick action is critical. Creating an alert or advisory system was a top recommendation from tribal leaders at a May 4 hearing to highlight this issue,” said Ramos, the first and only California Native American serving in the state Legislature.
Ramos also noted that California, the state with the greatest population of Native Americans in the nation, is also among the states with the highest rates of reported cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.
Various studies found there are more than 5,700 cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women — known as MMIW — but only 116 of the women in the cases were placed on the United States Department of Justice missing persons list.
In 2020, the Sovereign Bodies Institute found only 165 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit, or MMIWG2, were reported across California. The report was funded and co-authored by the Yurok Tribe.
“The Legislature and administration are listening to those in the trenches fighting these crimes. These violent acts affect not only victims, but also families — and in too many instances, the lives of children who are left without a parent. We have much more work to do, but this is one step that can help now,” Ramos said.
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon stated, “Assemblymember James Ramos has repeatedly worked to remind us that California’s indigenous peoples are still here, and their needs must be recognized. Establishing the Feather Alert to help stem the high rate of disappearances and violence against native Californians is another important way to do that.”
“In a recent statewide study conducted by Sovereign Bodies Institute in 2021, the research found that 45 percent of respondents felt uncomfortable or unsafe calling 911,”said Annabella Hernandez, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Tribal Youth. “This bill will serve as the healing process to reunite the relationships between law enforcement and the Native American community.”
AB 1314 is sponsored by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and the Tachi Santa Rosa Racheria. Also supporting the bill are the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health, California Tribal Business Alliance, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) and Devon Mathis (R-Visalia) are joint authors and co-authors are Assemblymembers Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno), Lisa Calderon (D-Whittier), Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona), Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), Mike Gipson (D-Carson), Luz Rivas (D-San Fernando), Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield), and Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). Senators Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) and Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) are also authors.