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- By Elyse Wild
The FBI is ramping up efforts to combat the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis with a six-month deployment of 60 personnel to 10 FBI field offices nationwide. The initiative aims to solve unsolved violent crimes in Native communities through partnerships with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal law enforcement.
The deployment marks the third personnel surge under “Operation Not Forgotten,” the FBI’s 2023 initiative targeting cold cases in Indian Country. Last fall, the bureau held a press briefing to tout the initiative's results thus far, which included providing investigative support to more than 500 cases, leading to the recovery of 10 child victims, 52 arrests, and 25 indictments or judicial complaints.
The BIA’s Missing and Murdered Unit will provide additional support, while U.S. attorneys’ offices commit to aggressive prosecution of referred cases, according to a statement by the Department of Justice.
The crisis remains severe, with Native Americans experiencing murder rates 10 times the national average, with homicide one of the top 10 causes of death for Native women. While the Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates there are 4,200 unsolved MMIP cases, the actual number is likely higher, Native advocates say.
As of early fiscal year 2025, the FBI’s Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations — including more than 900 death investigations, about 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations.
“Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a press release. “By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with U.S. attorneys and tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability these communities deserve.
The Justice Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program will support these efforts by placing attorneys and coordinators in U.S. attorney offices nationwide to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people.
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