School students in la crosse are raising awareness about an issue impacting women.

Students held an event out front of central high school this morning recognizing the high rates of murdered and missing indigenous women in the u-s.

Indigenous women ... also known as native american women .... experience murder rates ten times the national average.,,, according to the u-s department of justice.

And more than 5- thousand women went missing in 2017.

Student organizers say the point of the today is just to make sure the facts are known.

"i hope it just helps people think about it, like hey, i was driving past today and i saw these people holding this thing with red dresses, maybe i'm going to search it up later."

36 indigenous women went missing in the united states in january of this