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Task Force on MMIW Announces Virtual Consultations


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WASHINGTON – The Presidential Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives announced 12 Tribal consultations to occur virtually across the United States in the coming months.

American Indians and Alaska Natives experience disproportionately high rates of violence. President Trump has called the crisis of missing and murdered Native Americans “sobering and heartbreaking.”

The Presidential Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, also known as Operation Lady Justice, announces the upcoming series of Tribal consultations under Executive Order 13898. The Executive Order requires the Task Force to “conduct appropriate consultations with Tribal governments on the scope and nature of the issues regarding missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.” While the Task Force had plans in place for a robust schedule of consultations and listening sessions in various locations in Indian country and elsewhere beginning in March, postponement of those sessions was required by the current public health crisis. Therefore, the Task Force has established a series of Tribal consultations to be held virtually. The sessions are regional, based on Bureau of Indian Affairs regions. The schedule, link to register, Dear Tribal Leader letter and framing paper are available on the Operation Lady Justice website, which can be found at operationladyjustice.usdoj.gov/

Confirmed date and time for this area is August 25th, 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST. BIA Great Plains and Rocky Mountain Regions – Virtual Consultation via WebEx. A final session for any tribal official who missed their first session is scheduled for September 17th, 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST via WebEx.

The members of the Task Force are: Katharine (Katie) Sullivan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, designee for the Attorney General; Tara Sweeney, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, designee for the Secretary of the Interior; Terry Wade, Executive Assistant Director, Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Laura Rogers, Acting Director, Office on Violence Against Women; Charles (Charlie) Addington, Deputy Bureau Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services; Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma and Chair of the Native American Issues Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee; and Jean (Jeannie) Hovland, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Affairs and Commissioner, Administration for Native

Americans, Department of Health and Human Services.

Marcia Good of the Department of Justice serves as the Executive Director of the Task Force. The Task Force will present a progress report to the President by Nov. 26, 2020, and a final report detailing its activities and accomplishments by Nov. 26, 2021.

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