photo by: D'Arlyn Bell contributed

People gather outside of City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., ahead of a city proclamation to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

The City of Lawrence has made a proclamation to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and honor those affected by violence.

A few dozen community members walked from the University of Kansas to City Hall on Tuesday to attend the Lawrence City Commission meeting, make remarks and receive the proclamation. In comments to the commission, Robert Hicks Jr., a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Nixon, Nevada, went through various statistics indicating the disproportionate rate of violence against Indigenous women specifically and Indigenous people in general.

“Violence against Native people is historical and political, bounded by oppression and colonial violence,” Hicks said. “We want to do more than just survive, and we seek nothing more than human dignity and nothing less than justice.”

photo by: City of Lawrence

Robert Hicks Jr, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Nixon Nevada, addresses the City Commission as part of its meeting May 3, 2022.

Hicks said that violence against Indigenous people in the U.S. is a crisis, but that the extent of the problem remains unknown, in part because of a lack of overall data. He noted that Savanna’s Act, which was signed into law in 2020, directed the U.S. Justice Department to review, revise and develop law enforcement and justice protocols to address cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people.

The proclamation cites Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data that shows that homicide is the third-leading cause of death among Indigenous women and girls between 10 and 24 years of age and the fifth-leading cause of death for Indigenous women between 25 and 34. It also states that in 2016, the National Crime Information Center reported nearly 6,000 cases of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, but the U.S. Department of Justice was tracking only about 100 cases.

Mayor Courtney Shipley read the proclamation following Hicks’ comments, at times becoming emotional.

“We honor the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and persons whose cases are documented and undocumented in public records and the media; and demonstrate solidarity with the families of the victims in light of those tragedies,” Shipley said, reading from the proclamation.

The proclamation officially named Thursday, May 5, 2022, a Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Persons. Tuesday’s Justice Walk was one of several events being held this week as part of “Actions for Justice.” The Indigenous Community Center, in partnership with KU and Haskell Indian Nations University, is hosting the events, which will continue through Thursday, as the Journal-World reported.

In other business, the commission:

• Approved a resolution to appoint a steering committee for the city’s upcoming update of its land development code. The code guides allowed land uses, building density, parking requirements and various other aspects of development and has not been updated since 2006. The commission recently authorized a contract with Clarion Associates in the amount of $383,650 to provide consulting services for the update, and the committee will advise, review, and provide feedback to the consultant as part of the process. The commission voted unanimously to add a few additional members to the proposed committee, bringing the total to 14 members. The membership will include representatives from various areas, including development, real estate, the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods, and the Affordable Housing Advisory Board, among other areas. The commission will approve the individuals to fill the seats at a later date.

• Received funding recommendations totaling $1.55 million for the 2022 Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership and held a public hearing about the recommendations. The recommended allocations include funding for weatherization grants, sidewalk gaps, rental assistance and various other programs. The public hearing kicked off a 30-day public comment period, after which the commission will consider approving the final recommendation in June.