The crisis of missing or murdered indigenous persons continues to ravage Oklahoma, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. In a desperate bid to stem the tide, the Justice Department has announced stepped-up efforts to tackle the crisis head-on.
Tulsa, Oklahoma – The Northern District of Oklahoma joins the Justice Department in recognizing May 5 as National Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day, a somber reminder of the unrelenting violence that has plagued American Indian and Alaska Native communities for generations.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland sounded the alarm, warning that there is still much work to be done to address the persistently high levels of violence that have become an all-too-familiar reality for Tribal communities.
“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,” Garland said. “In carrying out our work, we seek to honor those who are still missing, those who were stolen from their communities, and their loved ones who are left with unimaginable pain. Tribal communities deserve safety, and they deserve justice.”
The Justice Department is taking concrete steps to address the crisis, including the creation of the MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which has permanently placed 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.
In Oklahoma, the Northern District will dedicate an MMIP Regional Outreach Program Coordinator and an MMIP Assistant United States Attorney to support and assist in MMIP cases and related crimes. The Coordinator will promote communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) was created in 2005 to provide a centralized repository and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the United States. Currently, there are 16 missing indigenous persons within the Northern District of Oklahoma, including Rhonda Anderson, Lauria Jaylene Bible, and Tina Brashear.
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- MMIP Crisis Deepens: DOJ Stepped Up Efforts to Tackle Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons · Alaska
- Feds Crack Down on Crime in Indian Country · Alaska
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Key Facts
- State: Oklahoma
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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