PHOENIX, AZ — The lawn at the Arizona State Capital on Sunday was full of red, as those in attendance remembered the victims and brought awareness to missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
Cher Thomas, of the Gila River Indian Community, was one of those people.
"This is an international campaign that started in Canada and and it has moved all the way through the Southwest of the United States."
RELATED: ‘Historical trauma’: Native communities grapple with missing and murdered women
It's a campaign that Governor Ducey showed support for on Twitter, lighting up the State Capital dome red.
Arizona’s Capitol dome is lit red for the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women or Girls #MMNWG #MMIW #NationalDayofAwareness pic.twitter.com/0W6akgKXdE
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) May 6, 2019
"It is historic, it is phenomenal, it's something that has been a long time coming for us as indigenous women and girls," said Leanne Guy, the Executive Director of the Southwest Indigenous Women's Coalition.
That's because on Remembrance Day 2019, there's new legislation in Arizona - House Bill 2570, which is awaiting the Governor's signature. The bill will establish a committee to study cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Arizona, and Guy will sit on that study.
"We'll be looking at the data, we'll be looking at what truly is happening in our communities and hopefully we'll also prompt funding for the work that needs to be done."
Arizona has the third highest number of cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
MAP: Arizona ranked third for cases of murdered and missing indigenous women
