Tribal leaders from around the state, Assembly members and senators from both parties, and activists gathered Wednesday morning and throughout the day, including a hearing of the Select Committee on Native American Affairs to express their commitment to ending violence on California’s tribal lands.

The day will culminate in an evening vigil at the State Capitol with hundreds in attendance, remarks from victims and their families and a video message from First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), chair of the California Legislative Native American Caucus, said California ranks among the highest in the nation in unresolved and uninvestigated cases involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, or MMIP.

The National Congress of American Indians and the National Institute of Justice report that more than four in five — 84.3% — of Native American women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

“This level of violence and trauma is unacceptable,” Ramos said.

In recent years two tribes have declared states of emergency because of the numbers of missing persons on their reservations: the Yurok Tribe and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians.

The Yurok Tribe took action in December 2021, and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians issued their declaration on April 25, 2024.

The National Institute of Justice reports that 56% of Native American women have experienced sexual violence.

In 2016, the National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls in the United States, but only 116 of the cases were logged by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Following a news briefing, Ramos led a hearing of the Select Committee on Native American Affairs to hear about the issues tribes are facing while working to keep their reservations safe.

Ramos and others stated that a significant factor contributing to the disproportionate violence was passage of a 1953 federal law — Public Law 280 — that turned most criminal justice responsibility and funding for that responsibility over to six states, including California.

“That law resulted in fewer resources for tribal safety and great jurisdictional confusion among federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement. It also undermined public safety in communities neighboring reservations because cities and counties have fewer partners to rely upon when mutual assistance is needed,” Ramos said.

He added that the six states also had among the highest numbers of unresolved MMIP cases.

Scheduled to join Ramos at the hearing were California Valley of Miwok Indians Chairperson Antoinette Del Rio, Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley Chairperson Cheyenne Stone, Morongo Band of Mission Indians Chairperson Charles Martin and Yurok Chairman Joe James, and Carole Goldberg, UCLA Distinguished Research Professor and Jonathan D. Varat Distinguished Professor of Law Emerita.

Also participating were Acting Director Isaac Borjorquez, Kakoon Ta Ruk Band of Ohlone-Costanoan Indians of Big Sur Rancheria; Office of Attorney General Rob Bonta; Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal; Sheriff Shannon Dicus, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; Program Director Cahuilla Councilwoman Samantha Thornsberry of the Cahuilla Consortium; and April McGill of the American Indian Cultural Center of San Francisco.

Hundreds were expected at an evening candlelight vigil featuring victims and their families, with the Capitol Dome illuminated in red and cultural songs.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified April McGill as being director of California Consortium for Urban Indian Health.