County resolution honors missing, murdered natives

May 5 day of awareness for plight of indigenous women, girls
By: 
Lee Pulaski
City Editor

The Shawano County Board of Supervisors has designated May 5 a day of awareness for missing and murdered indigenous women.

The resolution, which received unanimous approval from the board, noted that a 2016 report from the National Institute of Justice stated that 84% of Native American women have experienced violence in their lifetime, and over half of those were prey to sexual violence. The resolution also noted a 2016 National Crime Information Center report that indicated 6,000 cases of missing and murdered Native women and girls, but the U.S. Department of Justice was only tracking about 100 cases.

The resolution noted the murders of Menominee tribal members Rae Tourtillot in 1986, Ingrid Washniwatok in 1999 and most recently, Katelyn Kelley in 2020, along with Lisa Ninham, who has been missing for 40 years. The resolution also noted murdered Ho-Chunk members Jennifer Wesho in 1989, Jacinda Muir in 2015 and Kozee Decorah in 2020.

The resolution would normally get its blessing from the county’s tribal affairs committee, but the request for the observance came too late to make it on the committee’s April meeting agenda, so it went through the executive committee instead for a recommendation, according to County Board Chairman Tom Kautza.

“The ladies who were requesting this wanted this done this month because it would never get through the process by the date they have in there to be honored,” said Kautza, who noted that he spoke with Supervisor Kathy Luebke, who sits on both committees, and got her OK to have the executive committee sponsor the resolution. “This way, it gets done, and it’s a good thing. It’s just showing we do support that for them (the tribes).”

Supervisor Joe Miller, who also sits on the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council, applauded the recognition by the county.

Supervisor Arlyn Tober questioned why the board was only recognizing missing and murdered women for one group.

“Why wouldn’t it be for all women and girls?” Tober said.

Kautza pointed out that the request came from multiple tribes in the state, not just from the nearby Menominee, Ho-Chunk and Stockbridge-Munsee tribes.

“They just want a show of support and get a little more attention to be brought to this instead of just, when it happens, it goes away into the background,” Kautza said.


lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com