BISMARK, N.D. — The North Dakota chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, issued the following statement after the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement reported that Kristy Lee, her daughter Tiana Lenoir, and infant Lokia, all members of the Spirit Lake Tribe, were shot and killed in St. Michael.
“Our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims and the entire tribal community of Spirit Lake during this tragic time,” said Jackie Beller, a volunteer with the North Dakota chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Every day, communities across the country are affected by gun violence – and this is another reminder that North Dakota is not the exception. We know that Native women are disproportionately affected by gun violence and we plead to our leaders to take the necessary action to protect all North Dakotan families from senseless acts of gun violence.”
More than 450 American Indian and Alaska Native people are killed with guns each year—1 person each day. 1 percent of all people killed with firearms are American Indian/Alaska Native.
American Indian and Alaska Native people are more than two times more likely than their Latinx peers, and more than six times more likely than their Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander peers, to die by guns.
North Dakota lacks all of the foundational gun violence prevention laws. In an average year, 110 people die by guns in North Dakota. With a rate of 14.5 deaths per 100,000 people, North Dakota has the 26th-highest rate of gun deaths in the US. Gun violence costs North Dakota $1.3 billion each year, of which $10.9 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in North Dakota is available here.