Montana Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Advisory Council
The Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Advisory Council is the joint effort of collaboration and communication between tribes, federal and state agencies with the goal of improved response and awareness to missing indigenous persons of Montana.
Attorney General Austin Knudsen advocated for legislation during the 2023 legislative session to reauthorize the statewide Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force for ten years, extending its authority from the previous two-year sunset dates and providing the needed continuity to more effectively fulfill its long-term mission of addressing the crisis.
Members include representatives from each of the state’s eight federally recognized tribes, a representative from the Attorney General’s Office, a representative from the Montana Department of Justice who has expertise in the subject of missing persons, a trained homicide investigator, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction. The U.S. Attorney General’s Office (Montana District), Indian Health Services and Ohkomi Forensics are represented on the advisory council.
Reduce Indigenous missing persons in Montana
Improve collaboration
Identify families’ and communities’ needs
Track data on Montana missing indigenous persons
Assist in promoting programs to combat the reasons people go missing
Objectives
Identify jurisdictional barriers between federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community agencies
Work to identify causes that contribute to missing and murdered indigenous persons and make recommendations to federally recognized tribes in the state to reduce cases of missing and murdered indigenous persons
Work to identify strategies to improve interagency communication, cooperation, and collaboration to remove jurisdictional barriers and increase reporting and investigation of missing indigenous persons