Arizona Makes A Huge Step Forward For Native Justice

Before this land was known as America, it was a wide open expanse, home to the many native tribes that we hear less and less of as the years pass. These populations are dwindling, especially here in Arizona as more and more members go missing.

After months of discussion, the Arizona legislature has finally made a huge step to reverse that problem.

Emily's Law

In early 2025, waves were sent across Arizona after the disappearance and death of 14-year old Emily Pike, a member of the Apache Tribe here. There was no Amber Alert sent for her, so Arizona began working on their solution.

In early January, Representative Theresa Martinez proposed House Bill 2281, otherwise known as "Emily's Law". This would create a new level of missing persons alerts known as "Turquoise Alerts" that focus solely on native communities, no longer hiding their problems in the dark.

Native History is Being Erased by the Arizona Government

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Coming Together for a Common Cause

On Wednesday, May 7th, the bill passed with a resounding 57-0 vote. This was one of the few occasions that both Democrats and Republicans worked together to enact this change, showing that some things ae bigger than political divisions.

The bill was initially passed in February, but got bogged down waiting for an amendment in the senate to ensure the alert could cover minors under the age of 18. This is a massive step for not only native communities, but the state of Arizona in general. No longer will these problems be kept in the dark, and we can begin to move forward and ensure tragedy of this scale never happens again.

[ABC15][HB 2281]