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For advocates:
Of note, while this development was celebrated as a necessary investment in federal MMIP resources, leaders in California expressed disappointment for not being selected to host the MMIP Regional Outreach Program. With the highest Indigenous population in the US and the fifth most MMIP cases, officials have called for a dedicated attorney/coordinator to be placed in the state. California lacks a dedicated DOJ personnel in addition to limited federal resources to address crime on tribal lands, and does not have its own taskforce or report on the status of MMIP.
Advocates in California can call for the DOJ to expand the MMIP Regional Outreach Program to California.
Background:
Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People, issued by President Biden in 2021, tasked the Justice Department to direct more staff resources towards addressing the MMIP crisis. In response, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which permanently places 5 attorneys and 5 coordinators in five designated regions across the U.S.: Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Southeast Regions. These states are: Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
The MMIP Regional Outreach Program staff will work closely with the United States Attorney’s offices in investigation of MMIP cases and facilitate collaboration between federal, tribal, local and state law enforcement entities. They will also work closely with the DOJ National Native American Outreach Services Liaison (also created by Executive Order 14053), 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.
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