PHOENIX — A new bill in the Arizona state legislature seeks to create an AMBER Alert-style system for missing Indigenous people.
The AMBER Alert system started in 1996 as a powerful tool to locate missing or kidnapped children.
HB 2281 aims to expand that system to include missing Indigenous people of all ages.
"Oh, I think it's going to be a systematic change and a systematic impact to help," said Legislative District 8 Rep. Brian Garcia.
Garcia is one of the co-sponsors of the bill. He is pushing for this new law over the fact that Indigenous people go missing in disproportionate numbers.
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According to 2016 data from the Urban Indian Health Institute, Native American women living on reservations face a murder rate ten times higher than the national average. Murder is the third leading cause of death for Native women.
The Emily Pike case is bringing renewed attention to that issue.
"We don't have the appropriate data, the jurisdiction and the resources to address when Indigenous people go missing," said Garcia.
"A lot people are like.. well, it's a little bill, it's a digital, is that really going to help? It's not going to hurt, that's for sure," said Rep. Teresa Martinez of Legislative District 16.
At a rally last week in Mesa for Emily Pike, Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Lewis, who has been pushing for this bill, said it is long overdue.
"I hope that this is a wake up call to all law enforcement in Arizona, to the state legislature to hopefully pass this red-feather MMIP alert," said Lewis.
The Arizona House already passed HB 2281 in a unanimous vote. A Senate committee will consider the bill this week. Their green light pushes it to the Senate floor for a full vote, then potentially to the governor’s desk.
For Dana Dosela, who organized a run for Pike over the weekend, it will mean a better shot at change.
"I don't think she should be forgotten. I don't think her family should feel like no one cares,” said Dosela.
