AKWESASNE -- The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe will recognize the “National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls” on Friday.

Community events have been scheduled for Friday, to help educate and raise awareness, as well as to commemorate the lives of missing and murdered women and girls.

“As we move ahead into the future as Native communities, we must never forget those that we have lost along the way,” Tribal Sub-Chief Michael Conners said in a prepared statement. He sponsored the resolution that recognizes the day after returning from Washington, DC where discussions took place on federal legislation to designate May 5 as a national day.

“More must be done nationally, but in the meantime, I commend our community’s own efforts, led by the Seven Dancers Coalition and the Three Sisters Program in helping to address domestic violence, sexual assault and increase the safety of women and girls in Akwesasne,” he said.

On February 15, Conners attended a congressional briefing in cooperation with Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that was convened by the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center, National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and the Indian Law Resource Center. The event included an overview from Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) of a resolution (S. Res. 60) he introduced into the U.S. Senate, along with Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.), in July 2016 to designate May 5 as National Day for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls.

Tribal Council expressed supported the federal bill by passing their own, which calls for education and public awareness on May 5th to demonstrate solidarity with the families continuing to deal with the loss of a loved one. As a result, the Seven Dancers Coalition and the Tribe’s Three Sisters Program have been working in cooperation to plan a community event, which includes encouraging folks to “Wear RED to Remember” on Friday to commemorate the victims.

“This event is an important step in our community-wide effort to acknowledge the grief and loss of our families living through all types of adversity,” shared Tribal Chief Beverly Cook. “We are also acutely aware of the devastated families who have missing and murdered sons, who have not found closure to their heartache.”

In Akwesasne, there are unresolved missing persons cases. Police continue to investigate the 2013 disappearance of Timothy Benedict-Leaf, then 19, and the 2009 disappearance of Richard Todd “Acid” Adams. More details about those cases are here.

Plans for May 5 begin at 9 a.m. at the Seven Dancers Coalition, 352 State Route 37 (former-Burning Sky Office Products), with a showing of the movie “Highway of Tears” and guest speaker Chantel Henderson, a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women advocate. It will be followed by a talking circle for the sharing of ideas and thoughts before breaking for lunch, sponsored by the Tribe.

“May 5th will be an opportunity to help educate and restore traditional values into our families, so that every Native woman and girl can live a life free of violence,” Seven Dancers Coalition Director Amie Barnes said in a news release from the tribe. “We are asking community members and other to participate in this action campaign to recognize the victims and to bring awareness to the issue of Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls to a wider audience.

In the afternoon at 1 p.m., the public is invited to a tobacco burning and offering at Gray Street (near the Hogansburg Bridge), an honor song performed by NAMMY award-winning musician Bear Fox, remarks from chiefs Ron LaFrance and Beverly Cook, and to take part in a memorial butterfly release to follow.

“It's unfortunate that we need a day to commemorate in order to bring attention to murdered and missing Native women and girls. It's good that the government has issued a statement that we have been asking for years, but it may not bring closure to all the families and communities that are affected by this very sensitive issue,” LaFrance said in a release from the tribe.