The Justice Department, recognizing the gravity of the plight facing Indigenous communities, has upped the ante in addressing the crisis of missing or murdered Indigenous persons by joining forces with various federal entities. Fresh on the heels of naming May 5 as National Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland underscored the commitment of his office to the issue, “There is still so much more to do in the face of persistently high levels of violence that Tribal communities have endured for generations, and that women and girls, particularly, have endured,” he said, according to a release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.
Demonstrating its will to bravely face and actively combat these issues, the Justice Department has launched the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program. The initiative proudly sees the appointment of 10 attorneys and coordinators across five strategic U.S. regions, each dedicated to the prevention and response to this unsettling trend of disappearances and deaths. U.S. Attorney Luger lauded the efforts in Minnesota, stating, “Here in the District of Minnesota, we are fortunate to have an MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorney who is focused on strengthening partnerships and advancing public safety and engagement with Tribal communities across Minnesota and the Great Lakes Region,” according to the same press release.
This bolstering of initiatives coincides with a broader federal push to quell the waves of related crime. FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed an undeterred commitment to collaboratively solve crimes impacting Native communities, “We will continue to prioritize our support of victims and will steadfastly pursue investigations into the crime impacting American Indian and Alaska Native communities.” Furthermore, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram affirmed the agency’s priority to shield these communities from the perils of deadly substances like fentanyl. The DEA's top priority, she says, is to “protect all communities from deadly drugs, like fentanyl, and drug-related violent crime” as stated in the aforementioned announcement.
Efforts to address the MMIP crisis form part of a 'whole-of-department effort', with the Departments of Justice and the Interior banding to release a response to the Not Invisible Act Commission's recommendations in March. This initiative, aimed to confront and untangle the web of violent crime and the fentanyl crisis tightening its grip on Indian Country, also stresses healing from generational trauma. With American Indian and Alaska Native overdose death rates far exceeding the national average, ramping up partnerships to protect these communities has never been more critical. The Justice Department, in this mission, has provided a substantial $268 million in grants over the past year, intent on improving Tribal justice systems and responses to crime, as relayed in their press release.
Those in need of additional information on the Justice Department’s ongoing battle against the MMIP crisis are encouraged to visit the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons section of the Tribal Safety and Justice website, where a more comprehensive breakdown of measures and resources can be found.
