Norma Torres: “I thank Congressman Newhouse for organizing this Special Order and for his leadership. I sincerely hope that this will…”

“I thank Congressman Newhouse for organizing this Special Order and for his leadership. I sincerely hope that this will serve as a call to action for all of us. Like the gentleman, I was very disappointed that we could not get Savanna's Act across the 115th Congress and signed into law. Mr. Speaker, every single person in this country, no matter their gender or background, deserves to live in safety, and every single victim deserves justice. But for Native Americans, and especially Native American women, that has not been the case. Far from it. There is a long history of violence against Native Americans and exploitation of Native American women. It is a history that we don't talk about nearly enough. That is why, last week, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to support the creation of a new Federal holiday, Indigenous Peoples' Day, on the day that is now called Columbus Day. Across the Americas, too many indigenous people are still living with the legacy of colonialism and the violence that came with it. Taking one day a year to acknowledge that history and to acknowledge the many contributions of Native Americans to this great country, is the least that we can do, but it isn't enough. As William Faulkner famously said: ``The past is never dead. It's not even past.'' And the reality is that today, Native American women are being killed and going missing at an alarming rate.…”