US Attorney’s Office in South Dakota working with federal Dept. of Justice on additional resources to address Native American disappearances, killings; South Dakota among states where staff will be sent

JUNE 29, 2023:

The US Department of Justice creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people.

U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell stated, “Year after year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District South Dakota dedicates a significant portion of its resources to combatting crime and promoting public safety in Indian country. We are honored to have been selected as one of five districts to receive additional funding to hire an AUSA who will be specifically dedicated to MMIP matters. Given the urgency of the issue, we wasted no time in selecting an experienced attorney to serve in this capacity—Troy Morley, the District’s Tribal Liaison, will be the MMIP AUSA for the Great Plains Region.”

The MMIP regional program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to United States Attorneys’ offices promoting public safety in Indian country. The program fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People, and the Department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons issued in July 2022.

The program will dedicate five MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues. The five regions include the Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Southeast Regions, and MMIP personnel will be located within host United States Attorneys’ offices in the Districts of Alaska, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico, Northern Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Western Michigan. Programmatic support will be provided by the MMIP Regional Outreach Program Coordinator at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA).

“The Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the United States Attorney community are committed to preventing and responding to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. To that end, we will work together with all relevant federal, Tribal, state, and local law enforcement partners to locate missing persons and solve crimes where they have occurred,” said Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson. “This new program will allow the Department to build upon the work done by individual United States Attorneys’ offices and ensure continued support to those offices by coordinating outreach regionally on MMIP matters.”

More broadly, this MMIP Program will complement the work of the Justice Department’s National Native American Outreach Services Liaison, who is helping amplify the voice of crime victims in Indian country and their families as they navigate the federal criminal justice system. Further, the MMIP Program will liaise with and enhance the work of the Department’s Tribal Liaisons and Indian Country Assistant United States Attorneys throughout Indian Country, the Native American Issues Coordinator, and the National Indian Country Training Initiative Coordinator to ensure a comprehensive response to MMIP.

JUNE 28, 2023:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice will be funneling more resources toward addressing the alarming rate of disappearances and killings among Native Americans. The agency announced a new outreach program Wednesday (June 28, 2023). Five attorneys and five coordinators will be dispatched to several regions around the country to help with investigations of unsolved cases and related crimes. Their reach will span from New Mexico and Arizona to Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Michigan and Minnesota. The announcement came as a special commission gathered in Albuquerque for one of its final field hearings as it works to develop recommendations for addressing the crisis.

Extended version:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday (June 28, 2023) announced it will be funneling more resources toward addressing the alarming rate of disappearances and killings among Native Americans.

As part of a new outreach program, the agency will dispatch five attorneys and five coordinators to several regions around the country to help with investigations of unsolved cases and related crimes.

Their reach will span from New Mexico and Arizona to Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Michigan and Minnesota.

Attorney General Merrick Garland acknowledged that the crisis has shattered the lives of victims, their families and entire tribal communities.

“The Justice Department will continue to accelerate our efforts, in partnership with tribes, to keep their communities safe and pursue justice for American Indian and Alaska Native families,” Garland said in a statement issued Wednesday.

The announcement came as a special commission gathered in Albuquerque for one of its final field hearings as it works to develop recommendations on improving the response from law enforcement and coordination within local, state, tribal and federal justice systems.

The commission started its meeting with a prayer and a moment of silence as four colorful skirts were displayed at the front of the room in honor of those who have gone missing or have been trafficked or killed.

Some commission members read the names of victims to be remembered, including Ashlynne Mike, an 11-year-old Navajo girl who was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered in northwestern New Mexico in 2016.

With seemingly insurmountable jurisdictional challenges, members of the federal commission have a difficult task ahead. Over the next three days, they will be listening to more heartbreaking stories from Native American families who have had loved ones vanish or turn up dead.

The goals of the 37-member commission include tracking and reporting data on missing-person, homicide and human trafficking cases and increasing information sharing with tribal governments on violent crimes investigations and other prosecutions on Indian lands.

Aside from making recommendations to the Interior and Justice departments, the commission also is tasked with boosting resources for survivors and victims’ families, such as providing access to social workers and counselors.

Elizabeth Hidalgo Reese, a member of Nambé Pueblo and senior policy advisor for Native American affairs at the White House, acknowledged the emotional toll that comes from victims and families sharing their stories.

“We need to understand this problem from every angle, we need to explore every possible solution,” she said at the start of Wednesday’s hearing. “So we do need to hear from all of you.”

US Attorney’s Office in South Dakota working with federal Dept. of Justice on additional resources to address Native American disappearances, killings; South Dakota among states where staff will be sent

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