[ [link removed] ]March For Our LivesMarch For Our Lives



John, today marks
Native American Heritage Day.

This is a time to celebrate the stories and traditions of Native American
and Alaska Native tribes across the country. Roughly 8.8 million Native
and Indigenous people live in the US today, and as we celebrate their
culture, we also need to acknowledge the disproportionate effects of gun
violence that they face.

Unfortunately, this has been the reality for hundreds of years, since the
first colonizers arrived in North America. We cannot forget that among the
core root causes for the epidemic of gun violence and suicide in Native
and Indigenous communities in the US today is the historic and ongoing
displacement and dispossession of Native people. That’s why fighting gun
violence means we have to tackle its causes at its root, including
injustice and inequity. 

According to the Center for Disease Control, about 428 Native Americans
die from gun violence per year. Of those deaths, a disproportionate amount
are women and children. 

Native American women are over 2x more likely than white women to be
fatally shot by an intimate partner. And about 7.2 per 100,000 Indigenous
children die from gun violence, compared to 3.3 out of every 100,000 white
children.

The Native community is also disproportionately impacted by the suicide
epidemic, especially young people. Death by firearm suicide is the leading
cause of death for young people 10-14 in this community, and the second
leading cause for folks 15-34. 

This is preventable,
John. Ending this violence is
long overdue, and as with ending all gun violence, we know we need
culturally sensitive and community-led interventions. Addressing the root
causes of gun violence and passing gun safety legislation will bring us
one step closer to a future free from gun violence.

Today and every day, we honor our Native and Indigenous neighbors with
action. 

In solidarity,

— March for Our Lives




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