In a renewed effort to address the troubling rates of violence within Native American communities, the FBI is deploying additional agents and personnel to field offices across ten states over the next six months. This decision is part of a broader initiative by the federal government to tackle the persistent issue of unsolved violent crimes in Indian Country.
The United States Justice Department announced that these temporary assignments would begin immediately, with staff rotating every 90 days. The focus areas include field offices situated in Albuquerque, Phoenix, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Portland in Oregon, and Jackson, Mississippi.
In collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, tribal authorities, and federal prosecutors, the FBI aims to bring much-needed attention and resources to this critical issue. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi emphasized the urgent need for such measures, noting that the crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are alarmingly high. According to Bondi, the Department of Justice’s enhanced partnership with the FBI, U.S. attorneys, and tribal law enforcement will facilitate much-needed accountability in these communities.
Efforts to address this crisis have been ongoing for decades. During his presidency, Donald Trump became the first to formally recognize the issue with an executive order establishing a task force to address the alarming rates of disappearances and killings among Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Further, Trump signed legislation in 2020, urging the Justice and Interior departments to consult with tribes on developing national law enforcement guidelines, alongside another measure that proposed the formation of a federal commission to improve governmental responses to these cases.
When President Joe Biden took office, he issued another executive order focused on public safety in 2021. Additionally, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland initiated the implementation of the Not Invisible Act alongside the federal commission. This involved public meetings nationwide where survivors and families shared heart-wrenching experiences, with recommendations crafted in 2023 to address the crisis.
The Justice Department established a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons outreach program, deploying more attorneys and coordinators to help tackle unsolved cases within specific regions. Despite these efforts, advocates argue that many cases remain unresolved due to a lack of consistent resources and skilled detectives overseeing the investigations. They consider the latest FBI surge a vital measure and believe such an investment should be ongoing rather than temporary.
“This shouldn’t be just a one-time, six-month effort,” said Abigail Echo-Hawk, director of the Seattle-based Urban Indian Health Institute. Echo-Hawk emphasized the importance of sustained resources for Indian Country, noting that accountability can act as a deterrent. She remains optimistic that some families may find justice as a result of these efforts.
The Biden administration’s response to the congressionally mandated recommendations from the Not Invisible Commission took about four months, acknowledging that more needs to be done across the federal government to resolve the crisis and promote healing from historical traumas. However, the Justice Department’s webpage previously linking to the recommendations has vanished, leaving uncertainty about the current status of the guidelines.
Echo-Hawk stresses the importance of following through on promises made and actions taken by previous leadership to address this problem. “The Not Invisible Act Commission recommendations need to be restored,” she stated, emphasizing the need to capitalize on opportunities to bring them to fruition.
Currently, the FBI’s Indian Country program is managing approximately 4,300 open investigations, encompassing more than 900 death inquiries, 1,000 child abuse cases, and over 500 related to domestic violence and adult sexual abuse. The program has supported over 500 investigations in the past two years, leading to the recovery of 10 child victims and the arrest of more than 50 suspects, marking a significant step forward in this ongoing endeavor.