Tracker Pixel for Entry

​One Congressman blocks Savanna’s Act, North Dakotans outraged

News | December 19th, 2018

Jessica Perez and her son Malachi after signing the letter to Congressman Kevin Cramer urging him to help Savanna's Act pass - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – While a lone Virginian Congressman blocks passage of Savanna’s Act, people across North Dakota are applying pressure to the state’s representative in Washington, D.C. to help push the bill forward.

On Wednesday, dozens of concerned people in Fargo, Minot, Bismarck, and Grand Forks contacted the office of current Congressman Kevin Cramer to demand his verbal support to push the act through the U.S. House of Representatives. The FM Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women – Human Trafficking Task Force organized the push to get the word out about the issue.

Congressman Bob Goodlatte is the lone dissenting vote blocking the act, which already passed unanimously through the U.S. Senate.

Senator Heidi Heitkamp first introduced Savanna’s Act in October 2017 naming the bill after Savanna Greywind, a 22-year-old member of the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe who was horribly murdered during a fetal abduction.

Petitioners sign letter to Congressman Kevin Cramer urging him to help Savanna's Act pass - photograph by C.S. Hagen

Heitkamp has called Goodlatte petty for playing politics.

“The actions of one Congressman shouldn’t stop us from improving tribal access to law enforcement databases and preventing the cycle of exploitation, abuse, and violence in Indian Country,” Heitkamp said in a press release.

“I’d like to see Congressman Goodlatte actually visit a reservation in North Dakota and explain to the families of victims why he is blocking this bill. Unlike Congressman Goodlatte, I am serious about saving lives and making sure Native American women are invisible no longer – and I’m determined to not let Savanna’s Act go down without a fight.”

Jessice Perez and son Malachi outside of Congressman Kevin Cramer's office - photograph by C.S. Hagen

Approximately 84 percent of Native women and girls experience violence in their lifetime. Actual records of missing and murdered women are difficult to find, but the National Crime Information Center reported 125 cases of Native American women and girls who went missing in North Dakota in 2016.

Savanna’s Act, if passed, will allow the gathering of data on missing and murdered Indigenous women, and men, improve law enforcement databases and create a clearer set of guidelines on how missing persons are reported in Native country.

It was unclear why Godlatte, who is chairman of the House Committee of the Judiciary and is retiring from his position, is blocking Savanna’s Act, or how one dissenting vote could hold up the passage of any bill. One reason may be that the House Committee of the Judiciary is responsible for oversight of the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, and has jurisdiction of matters concerning immigration, terrorism, and crime.

More than a dozen people arrived at Cramer’s office in Fargo to sign a letter urging him to publicly push the bill forward. With two days left before the end of the Congressional session, the matter is urgent, Jessica Perez, from Moorhead, said.

“The Savanna’s Act itself is creating awareness of Indigenous people who go missing and murdered, and will bring more resources to combat this,” Perez, who brought her son, Malachi, to Cramer’s office, said.

“Women’s lives are at stake and we need to fix this now,” Amy Jacobson, who is helping MMIW task force, said. “If it doesn’t pass we go into a new Congressional session and we would have to go through the whole process again. We can’t play games with women’s futures.”

Janel Herald, spokesperson for the Greywind family - talks about imprtance of Savanna's Act - photograph by C.S. Hagen

Janel Herald, spokesperson for the Greywind family, also signed her name to the letter.

“Savanna’s Act is not only important to Native Americans, but it should be to Cramer as well,” Herald said. “There is a lot more that needs to be done, but this is a good first step. It is pivotal for Cramer to put his name onto this.” 

Cramer's office was asked for a statement, but did not reply. 

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee NelsonLocal groups will speak out against current and projected federal budget cuts in downtown Fargo this Saturday, April 26. The Red River Valley chapters of Fearless and Indivisible will lead a protest from…

By Prairie Rose Seminolems.prairierose@gmail.com I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens, spaces of song and prayer, where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders. I didn’t yet have…

Saturday, April 26, 1:30-3:30 p.m.Rourke Art Gallery + Museum, 521 Main Ave., MoorheadThings are coming up rosy at the Rourke in a true feast of the senses during the third annual “Gallery in Bloom” exhibit. The pop-up…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I feel like reading a newspaper is the equivalent of listening to music on vinyl. Not only is it analog, it’s an experience. I might be a little biased, but there's something about the rustling…

By Ed Raymondfargogadly@gmail.comThe wizards and kleagles in whites now wear blue suits and red tiesA hundred years ago, more than 30,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan from virtually every state in the Union wearing their white…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…

Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comRyan Coogler goes big and bold with “Sinners,” a sweaty, bloody vampire movie set in 1932. The filmmaker stuffs this universe with enough ideas to serve a limited-series season of episodic…

By Raul Gomez Modern Man was a gentle soul. If you were down or just wanted a friend, he’d be there for you. I remember the first day I met Modern Man. It was Jeremiah Fuglseth and me. He wanted to write about this legendary…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com In 2023, the Superintendent of Fargo Public Schools, Rupak Ghandi, gave a passionate plea to the Fargo School Board to follow federal law, because a recently passed state law would increase…