Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle MMIP Crisis in Indian Country

good morning everyone the subcommittee on indian insular affairs and the subcommittee on oversight investigations will come to order without objection the chair is authorized to declare recess of the subcommittee at any time the subcommittees are meeting today to hear testimony on innovative technologies and initiatives to tackle the mmip crisis in indian country under house natural resources committee rule four f any oral opening statements at hearings are limited to a subcommittee's chair and ranking member for purposes of this joint hearing that will extend to the chairman and ranking members of both the subcommittees on indian and solar affairs and the subcommittee on oversight and investigations as well as the full committee chairman and ranking member i therefore ask unanimous consent that all of the members statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted in accordance with house natural resources committee rule three o without objection so ordered ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from wisconsin mister tiffany the gentlewoman from wyoming miss haggerman the gentlewoman from new mexico miss stansbury the gentleman from idaho mister simpson the gentleman from washington mister newhouse the gentleman from arizona mister biggs the gentleman from south dakota mister johnson and the gentlewoman from north dakota miss fedorchek be allowed to sit and participate in today's hearing. Without objection, so ordered. I will now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good morning again everyone and thank you all for being here for today's joint oversight hearing, examining innovative technologies and initiatives to tackle the missing and murdered indigenous people or MMIP crisis in Indian country. One of the most fundamental responsibilities of any government is to protect its citizens. When members of tribal communities disappear or become victims of violent crime without justice or accountability, it is a clear failure in that responsibility. As Chairman of the Indian Insular Affairs Subcommittee, I have heard from tribal leaders across the country about the public safety challenges facing their tribal communities. This includes devastating impacts of the MNIP crisis, not only on victims, but on families, communities, in entire tribal nations. The statistics are sobering. American Indian and Alaska Native women experience violence at rates far above the national average, and we know many cases are never reported or fully investigated. Behind every statistic is a family waiting for answers and a community seeking justice. Today's hearing begins with a simple question. How can we better use technology, innovation, and coordination to help address this crisis. Congress cannot investigate individual cases, but Congress does have a responsibility to ask whether the federal government is using available and appropriate tools to help tribal communities prevent disappearances, solve crimes, support victims and their families, and bring perpetrators to justice. As part of our unique government-to-government relationship with tribal nations, the federal trust responsibility requires nothing less. I'm encouraged that Trump administration has continued to prioritize this issue through initiatives such as Operation Not Forgotten, Operation Lady Justice, and Operation Spirit Return. Together, these efforts have strengthened investigative coordination, expanded intelligence sharing, enhanced victim services, and improved collaboration among tribal, Bureau of Indian Affairs, FBI, and other law enforcement partners. Today's hearing also gives us a chance to examine how emerging technologies, from improved data systems and information sharing, to investigative tools and communications capabilities, can strengthen those efforts and better support tribal communities. No single agency, no single level of government, and no single technology will solve this crisis alone. Progress will require continued partnership with tribal nations, federal agencies, state and local governments, and law enforcement all working together. I'm especially pleased to welcome Mister Charlie Addington with the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. I know this issue has been a priority for him, and I look forward to hearing about both the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain as the Bureau of Indian Affairs works alongside tribal communities to improve public safety. Also wanna thank our other witnesses for being here today. Your testimony will help us in Congress understand better what is working where gaps remain and how we can strengthen federal efforts going forward our responsibility today is not simply to better understand this crisis it is to identify practical solutions that can help prevent future tragedies strengthen public safety and ensure the tribal communities receive the justice and security that they deserve i look forward to today's testimony with that i will yield back And the chair will now recognize Miss Randall for her opening statement. Miss Randall.

Thank you, Chairman Herd, and also my thanks to Chair Gosar for bringing our subcommittees together to discuss one of the most important and urgent issues facing Indian country, the missing and murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis. I hope that this subcommittee hearing is a opportunity for Congress to act, to take real legislative steps, to address this crisis because it could not be more urgent. More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults have experiencing some form of violence in their lives. Indigenous women are murdered at ten times the national average. Eighty-four percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced a form of violence in their own lifetimes. That's compared to seventy-one percent for white women. It's dangerous. And these aren't just numbers. They're mothers, daughters, family, neighbors. We have an obligation and a trust responsibility in Congress and across the federal government to deliver solutions to tribal nations. And sadly, we hear directly from tribal leaders and community members that they're not hopeful. They're not hopeful that we can deliver because too often the trust in the federal government isn't there. But these issues extend past just trust. Tribes and experts in this field know that the real numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous may never be fully known because of jurisdiction confusion, racial misclassification, severe underfunding, and a lack of resources or bad relationship with local law enforcement. This all leaves too many chances for missing people to fall through the cracks. And it means that too many predators see Native women, especially as prey, because they believe there will be no consequences. I appreciate that we have a shared willingness to explore new ways to take on this crisis, like new technologies and initiatives that we'll discuss today. However, I wanna take the time to recognize that we have some solutions that have been in front of us for years that we should not ignore. Last month, the Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee held a hearing on Ranking Member Ligera Fernandez and Representative Newhouse's badges, for Native American Communities Act. That bill would improve data collection and coordination to help solve missing and murdered Indigenous women cases. It would also allow BIA to conduct its own background checks for police officers while maintaining high standards. It's time to move it to a mark-up so that we can deliver justice. The Badges Act and other bipartisan legislation in Congress reflects many of the recommendations of the Not Invisible Act Commission. That commission's Not One More report has over three hundred recommendations for Congress and the administration. Let's get to work on them now. Many may have not seen this report or any of the annual reports because the Trump administration removed it from the Department of Justice website. But I can assure you that this reporting makes clear the systemic failures of our federal government. In particular, the reports highlight that funding for criminal justice and victim services are wholly inadequate. They also note that staffing recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers is a continued and ongoing issue. I believe we should use all the tools we have, including new technology, to solve this crisis. With technology, we must make sure that we protect terrible sovereignty and sensitive and cultural information that may be given in a missing person's case. We also cannot lose sight of the recommendations that already exist and the solutions that just await our action. I look forward to hearing from all the witnesses today. on how we can do that. And it's my sincere hope that we'll continue working in a bipartisan way to deliver results. I wanna thank you all for being here today and I yield back.

Thank you very much. I Thank you very much. I would now recognize the subcommittee on oversight and investigations, chair Gosar, for an opening statement. Mister Gosar. Or Bruce, okay. Actually, I apologize. I'm gonna uh first recognize uh the chairman of the full house

Well thank you uh Chairman Hurd and and Chairman Gosar. The uh epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous people, or MMIP, has plagued Indian country for far too long. Many tribes have shared with this committee harrowing accounts of MMIP cases, the public safety concerns they face, and have stressed the importance of focusing on solutions to address the MMIP epidemic. Under the Trump administration, the federal government has renewed its focus on combating the MMI P crisis, implementing cutting edge technologies and new initiatives to solve cases more effectively than ever before. I appreciate Mister Charlie Addington, BIA's Principal Director of Justice Services and Law Enforcement, appearing before us today to speak on behalf of the administration and to share how the federal government is leading the fight to end the MMI P by using new technologies, particularly advancements in artificial intelligence, drones, optics, and genetic science to equip investigators with new tools and capabilities for reviewing cold cases, searching for missing persons and generating new leads, and to identify victims to bring closure to their loved ones, and being perpetrators to justice. For example, through the Department of Justice's twenty twenty-six Operation Not Forgotten, expanded personnel and inter-agency teams, equipped with LIDAR systems or thermal and infrared cameras to search large areas more quickly and effectively. Agents also user used high-tech AI powered sonar devices that bounces that bounce echos off underwater objects to locate bodies in deep murky waters. Under Operation Spirit Return, launched by the BIA in twenty twenty five and led by the BIA's Missing and Murdered Unit, the federal government has partnered with private sector innovators to leverage advances in genetic data analysis and dna science to provide investigators with new leads and to solve mmip cases including some cases that have been cold for years for example one of our witnesses here today has assisted bia in locating missing tribal members across the country including michelle elbow shield who was identified in january twenty twenty five after disappearing from the pine ridge reservation in south dakota nearly two years earlier. To be clear, these technological advancements and their successful implementation enable solving MMP cases more effectively than previously imagined. Today we have the opportunity to understand better how the federal government can deploy these technologies leverage revamped inter-agency initiatives and hear from experts on the front lines about how Congress can can best support them in their fight. I thank all of the witnesses for being here today to

Gentlemen Nils, at this time the chair recognizes the ranking member of the full committee on natural resources the gentleman from California Mr. Huffman. Mr. Huffman, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, today's hearing is a very important topic and it's one that we agree on. Acknowledging this crisis is very important, but we've gotta do a lot better than that. As my colleague, uh, Representative Randall said, we we've gotta take action. We just have to take action. For too long, Indigenous people have buried their loved ones, searched for answers, carried the burden of grief largely on their own. Every missing and murdered Indigenous person was someone's family member, friend, or loved one. I believe everyone in this room recognizes the severity of the missing and murdered indigenous persons, or MIMIP crisis. But the question is, do we share a commitment to doing something about it, to improving public safety and justice in Indian country? It's our responsibility as members of Congress to ensure that the federal government responds with the urgency and sustained commitment this crisis demands. Decades of chronic underfunding of federal programs and limited law enforcement capacity have left tribal communities With critical public safety and justice needs unmet, this has allowed violence to persist. And complicated jurisdictional boundaries between tribal state and federal law enforcement have resulted in confusion, delayed investigations, lack of prosecution, and inadequate resources for tribal justice systems. These challenges are real, but they can't be used as excuses for inaction. Victims deserve justice and families deserve answers. The BIA estimates there are approximately forty-two hundred unsolved missing and murdered cases. We know the real number is much higher. Indigenous peoples are frequently underrepresented or misidentified in databases. Many cases go unreported due to the mistrust of law enforcement, concerns for personal safety, jurisdictional uncertainty, or the belief that reports just won't be taken seriously. Without reliable comprehensive data, we can't fully understand or effectively address the true scope of this crisis. So, uh, we must improve reporting and data collection. We must strengthen inter-agency coordination and communication, recruit and retain law enforcement officers, and ensure tribal nations have the staffing, training, and resources necessary to protect their communities. We also can't ignore the unique public safety challenges in Alaska or the lasting impact Public Law two eighty, which was enacted during the termination era without tribal consultation. PL two eighty has created disparities in access to federal public safety resources that continue to impact tribal communities. Back in my home, Northern California, I hear directly from tribal leaders all the time about these ongoing challenges. Despite these barriers, tribes continue to lead in efforts to address the MMIP crisis, by organizing public safety summits, partnering with law enforcement, supporting survivors, and bringing together tribal leaders, law enforcement officials, state and federal lawmakers, academic researchers, and victim advocates to identify solutions. Similar work is happening all over the country. And federal government, our federal government, has a responsibility to support this work. Tribal nations can't be expected to solve a crisis we've created, or be subject to the partisan games that all too often are played by our federal government these days. As we discuss new ideas and emerging technologies, we should remember that Indian country has already provided us with solutions, and any use of new technologies should ensure data sovereignty for tribal nations. In twenty twenty, Congress passed the Not Invisible Act, which was signed into law by President Trump. Under President Biden and Secretary Haaland's leadership, The not invisible commission carried out extensive work gathering testimony from victims, survivors, family members, advocates, law enforcement officers, and tribal leaders. And the recommendations reflected lived experience, expertise, collaboration to address this crisis. As we consider new proposals, uh, let's make sure to take action to implement the commission's recommendations. This includes advancing bipartisan legislation before this committee. Ranking Member, Ledger Fernandez's Badges for Native Communities Act and Representative Newhouse's Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act. Both of these bills reflect recommendations from the Commission to address long-standing needs identified by tribal communities. We're ready, many of us, most of us, I think, are ready to work together to swiftly advance these bills through the House. So what are we waiting for? Meaningful progress requires sustained investments, stronger intergovernmental coordination, cooperation, fully staffed agencies, meaningful tribal consultation, and a long-term commitment to recommendations developed by tribal nations and tribal organizations. Victims deserve justice. Families deserve answers. Tribal citizens deserve safety. And it's our responsibility to make sure that today's discussion leads to action on all of those fronts. I yield back.

The gentleman yields. At this time, the chair recognizes the chairman of the subcommittee, on Oversight Investigations, the gentleman from Arizona, Mister Gosar, for an opening statement. Mister Gosar.

Thank you, Chair. Good morning everyone, and thanks to our witnesses for being here and for traveling to Washington to discuss this important topic. Today's hearing focuses on the missing and murdered Indigenous peoples crisis in Indian country, and what the Trump administration is is doing to help solve these cases and to bring justice to the families. Throughout my time in Congress, I have emphasized the importance of federal government trust responsibility towards the tribes. That includes helping keep tribal communities safe. The missing and uh murdered Indigenous peoples crisis has been a persistent area of great concern and needs of the Indian country. Too many families have endured the heartbreak of loved ones who have disappeared or been murdered without answer. In my district in Arizona, I've seen these tragedies firsthand. Solving these cases in remote rural areas can be incredibly difficult. That doesn't mean we have to stop trying. President Trump made public safety in Indian country a priority during his first term, and his administration is building on that work today. New technology and innovative collaboration between federal agencies and tribes, is giving law enforcement tools they simply did not have a few years ago. Artificial intelligence, forensic DNA testing, advanced genome sequencing, and and and drones are helping investigators find missing people. identify human remains, and generate new leads in cold cases. Empowered by President Trump and Congress, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the VIA, and Department of Justice, DOJ have been working more closely with state and tribal law enforcement to protect communities in Indian country and pursue justice for tribal m- families. Since twenty twenty five, VIA and DOJ have established targeted task forces and allocated resources to combat the missing and murdered Indigenous peoples. Programs like Operation Not Forgotten are bringing more investigators and resources into Indian country to solve crimes and missing persons cases. Operation Spirit Return is helping to identify unknown remains and reunite victims with their families through cutting edge forensic science. In fact, partnerships with organizations like Othran are proving that new technologies can deliver real answers for families who have waited for uh far too long. Today I wanna hear what's working. what obstacles remain, and what Congress needs to do to help. Above all else, every family in Indian country deserves answers, every victim deserves justice, and every community deserves to feel safe. I am grateful to the witnesses here today who can provide insight to these these issues from federal government, from the federal government, tribal leadership, law enforcement, and scientific perspectives. Although the challenges remain in addressing the missing and murdered Indigenous Peoples issues, I hope our conversation today can be hopeful and a valuable catalyst for continued technological and advanced increased coordination among agencies and tribal law enforcement entities to tackle the MLP crisis. Thank you and I yield back.

Gentlemen yields, now I will introduce the witness for our first panel, who is Mister Charles Addington, Principal Director of Justice Services and Law Enforcement Indian Affairs at the US Department of the Interior here in Washington. uh mister addington under our committee rules you must limit your oral statement to five minutes but your entire written statement will appear in the hearing record as we can hear testimony i know you've done this before just press that button in front of you we do use timing lights red uh the green means go yellow means you've got one minute and red uh would i would ask that you please wrap up your opening statement or any answer to a question uh with that mister addington the chair now recognizes you for five minutes

Well, thank you. Uh, good morning everyone. Uh, Chairman, ranking members, and members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the Department Interior's efforts to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous persons and improve public safety throughout Indian country. My name is Charles Addington, I'm an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and currently serve as the Principal Director of Justice Services in Law Enforcement for Indian Affairs. I have more than thirty-three years of law enforcement experience, including twenty-eight years of managing Indian country law enforcement programs. The department is committed to protecting tribal communities, bringing justice to victims and their families, and improving public safety across Indian country. Addressing the missing and murdered Indigenous person crisis remains one of our highest public safety priorities. American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to experience disproportionately high rates of violent crime, victimization, and unsolved missing person and cold cases. Behind every statistic is a family seeking answers, a community seeking justice, and a shared responsibility across all levels of government to act. Through the Office of Justice Services, Indian Affairs works closely with tribal, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to investigate cases. support victims and families, and strengthen public safety through Indian country. Recognizing the need for additional investigative resources and improved coordination the BIA established the first dedicated cold casing and missing person offices under Operation Lady Justice. Those efforts evolved into the Missing and Murdered Unit, a specialized investigative support unit dedicated to assisting missing persons in unresolved homicide investigations, involving American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Missing and Murdered Unit provides investigative and analytical support across jurisdictions, by identifying leads, coordinating investigative resources, and assisting law enforcement agencies in resolving complex and multi-jurisdictional cases. The Missing and Murdered Unit employs a collaborative problem-solving approach that combines advanced forensic techniques, DNA analysis, AI-assisted analytical tools, comprehensive case reviews, information sharing, and inter-agency coordination. DNA technologies continue to expand investigative capabilities and have proven invaluable in identifying victims, suspects, and investigative leads. AI-assisted tools help investigators organize large volumes of case information, identify patterns, prioritize leads, and review investigative materials more efficiently. In May, Secretary Burgum signed Secretary Order thirty-four fifty, establishing the Indian Country Violent Crime Task Force and implementing additional public safety enhancements, including refocusing the missing and murdered unit on its on its core investigative responsibilities. The task force strengthens coordination among tribal, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, while focusing resources on violent crime homicide investigations, missing person investigations, and other serious crimes affecting tribal communities. The department remains steadfast in its commitment to improving public safety throughout Indian country and advancing justice for missing and murdered indigenous persons. I want to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and I look forward to answering any questions you may have. Thank you.

Thank you very much, uh, Mister Addington. Before moving to member questions, I do have one quick procedural uh matter. I would ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Oregon, Mister Bentz, be allowed to sit and participate as well in today's hearing. Without objection, so ordered. The chair will now recognize members for five minutes of questions, and we're gonna begin by recognizing the gentleman from Montana, uh Mister Downing, for five minutes. Mister Downing.

Thank you, Mister Chair, and uh Director Addington, thank you for being here today. In my home district of central and eastern Montana, violent crime tragically continues to plague Indian country. You know, despite making up seven percent of the state's population, tribal victims represent twenty-six percent of Montana's missing person cases. You know, one piece of feedback that I consistently receive from Montana tribal leaders is their decades-long frustrations with BIA and its support for tribal law enforcement. You know, static funding distributions based off of baselines from the late nineteen nineties, along with difficulties with BIA regional offices have left many tribes feeling helpless in the face of surging criminal activity. So, Director Addington, I I really appreciate your testimony highlighting this administration's efforts to support tribal criminal investigations. However, at a broader level, can you elaborate on how BIA is working to correct these historical tribal law

Well, thank you for that question. And, uh, I'm happy to, to report back. I just was in Montana last week, meeting with tribal law enforcement,

Outstanding.

uh, officials as well as the US attorney and our other federal partners. And we did hear from some of the tribal, uh, law enforcement agencies and got the visit with them about how we're gonna collaborate more with them to ensure that they have the resources they need. to address the violent crimes. So what we're doing in Montana is we're actually we put additional resources up there. We've got three missing and murdered agents actually stationed uh there in the building's office as well as one at Blackfeet. Uh, and then we're looking at also additional drug agents up there in the area that's working very closely with the tribal law enforcement agencies. Uh, they're actually doing uh mobile enforcement team operations and working hand-in-hand with the tribal law enforcement folks. uh to make sure that we're meeting their needs and addressing the violent crime that's occurring on their reservations. Uh one of the other things that we're doing uh to help them with resources in our missing and murdered unit is uh under the secretary order we're refocusing the missing murdered uh resources and we're actually going to uh begin funding tribal officers to be part of these task forces so the collaboration and getting those resources to the boots on the ground out there is uh is paramount uh for us so we are actually uh working with those tribes to provide those resources.

Well, thank you. Uh, so to elaborate on that, how does the BIA's Missing and Murdered Unit cooperate with other law enforcement agencies including the FBI tribal law enforcement and what barriers remain to timely coordination?

So we work very well with uh our other federal partners, the FBI, HSI, uh all the other federal partners and then we're working very closely with our tribal partners, making sure that our uh, VA uh, offices is including them in the conversations. Uh, because most of these cases are getting solved at the, at the ground level. Uh, you know, in the past, uh, part of the issue is, is, is someone don't want someone from an office, uh, you know, three, four hundred miles away, um, telling them what they need to do. They need somebody they're on the ground and we are actually sending people out there, boots on the ground, to help the tribes address these issues.

Thank you. You mentioned in your testimony Secretary Burgum establishing the Indian country violent crime task force in May of this year. Can you elaborate on the role this task force will play in promoting public safety in Indian country?

Yes, it's similar to uh what we did uh with the cold case offices. This this will be the first time that we've had a a specific Indian country uh violent crime task force that we're developing where we're going to partner up with our tribal partners and our other federal partners uh where we're gonna address the open cases that's occurring out in Indian country that's not getting at the attention because either there's other things that they're doing, or maybe it's a it's a case that just uh needs some extra attention. So we're gonna work with the tribes to identify all those cases and then we're gonna assign resources. that which tribes will actually be a part of these task force offices, the tribes,

Right.

the federal government. And then we're going to also look at what we do to help them reduce violent crime that's occurring on their reservation through intelligence-led policing. So it's kind of a multifaceted approach, this task force is gonna be. It's not only gonna be working cases, but it's also gonna be working hand-in-hand with the tribes to reduce violent crime.

Well, thank you for those answers. You know, tragically, criminal actors have for way too long exploited jurisdictional uncertainty and a lack of law enforcement resources to terrorize Indian country. You know, reversing the cycle of violence will require directly addressing the issues that have historically hindered effective law enforcement coordination between tribes and the BIA BIA. So, uh, I really appreciate your testimony today, and I look forward to working with your offices on addressing these challenges going forward. And on that, Mr. Chair, I yield back my time.

Gentleman's time has expired. At this time, the chair recognizes the gentleman from

Thank you, Mister Chair. Um, Director Addington, you were just highlighting the work of the Missing and Murdered Unit and noted that the department's budget request would support twenty-six full-time positions. One of our witnesses on the next panel has shared that the MMU hasn't responded to her family in a case for several months, and that's something that needs to be addressed. Can you tell us a little bit more about how, about the MMU, how many of the staff work exclusively on missing and murdered cases and what other type of cases are they working on?

Yes, ma'am. Well, thank you for the question. And and this is one of the things where we talk about in the secretary order about the refocusing of the missing and murdered unit uh you know in the past there's maybe the difference in how they they prioritize maybe some of the work that the Missing and Murdered Unit's been doing. I think, you know, they've kind of worked on other things like predatory crimes and certain different things. And we've started as part of this secretary order a predatory crime unit specifically to work on those cases so that takes that ability away from the Missing and Murdered agents and puts it in its own unit. So that's gonna allow them to focus more time on, uh, responding to missing person and cold cases. And that's what we're doing, redirecting uh, their resources specifically back to those two core functions. And that's kind of what you were talking about. They, there was times where maybe some of our agents were working other type of cases, and we wanna make sure that they're working those core functions. And then the other thing is, is, is making sure we get those positions filled. Uh, you know, as I don't have to tell anyone on this committee how public safety is very difficult to fill positions not only in the federal government but across states counties uh tribes it's it's very difficult so we're working very diligently to make sure that we're filling those positions so we've got someone there. that can respond in like i just uh uh spoke about a minute ago we're also gonna be putting those resources to fund tribal officers. So they can have that resource directly there on the ground to be part of these uh task forces which is gonna help as well.

Thank you so much for sharing more about that and Absolutely, we all recognize the challenges in recruiting and retaining law enforcement, um, across jurisdictions, including in Indian country, and I just wanna give another, uh, shout-out to my colleague, Dan Newhouse, for his leadership on ensuring that, uh, tribal law enforcement officers have the benefits that they need to stay in Indian country, once, uh, often they're they're trained there and then get recruited elsewhere. because of the benefits and that benefit parity is gonna help us, I think across sectors have trained law enforcement. Um, I do wanna ask also about um the assistant secretary's order eight, which would uh reorganize the office of justice without tribal consultation, and also added a politically appointed principal director for justice services and law enforcement. Since this changes how BIA law enforcement reports within the agency. Some tribal leaders have expressed some concerns that this move might politicize the office and the services that it provides. Can you tell us why the department decided to move OJS' reporting structure from BIA to the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, and why it was done without tribal consultation?

Well, thank you for that question. And and I think uh there may be some confusion on exactly what that does uh the office of justice services is still within uh the bureau of indian affairs, the only thing that uh that actually changed is uh the reporting structure of uh the director uh and it still reports to a career person uh not to a political uh so it's to make sure that they the office of justice services has the capabilities to be at the table uh and is prioritized in the manner that it needs to be. So everything else is still basically the same with the Office of Justice Services, nothing has changed there other than it is uh now reporting to me which which I am a career person and not a political.

OK, well we'll stay engaged and if it seems like there is uh uh a a change, I know you'll want us to raise it.

The General Minutes, at this time the chair recognizes himself for five minutes. Mister Addington, thank you very much for being here this morning and preparing for uh today's hearing and reading your testimony and the testimony of the witnesses from our second panel. I saw a focus on technology, data, AI systems, additional resources. If you had to identify the biggest single reason M MIP cases still go unsolved, what would that reason be? Is it jurisdictional complexity? Is it investigative capacity, lack of coordination, or something else?

Uh, thank you for that question. And it s- a lot of missing person cases or or cold cases are uh, sometimes investigative leads run out and we don't look at all the resources or all the analytical resources that's out there to make sure that we have the tools to s- help solve these cases. And that's one of the things uh you'll hear from uh uh one of the witnesses in the next panel on the DNA testing, that we have actually uh really leaned into at the missing and murdered unit to help solve some of these cases. We've had some great success by using these DNA tools uh to help us come up and identify victims, identify suspects, where it would have took uh lots of human uh hours. investigate these cases. And a lot of times we find that uh these leads are hard to come up with. If you don't have someone calling in tips, if you don't have a break in the case, they just go cold and there's nowhere to turn because investigators have have basically kept going to dead ends constantly. And I think that's the biggest thing that we've run into on these cases. And I think these new tools that we're uh now branching out into, it's given us the ability to move these cases forward in a in a lot of areas. But we are working with state, on the state side of cases, cuz we do have a lot of indigenous persons that's actually not in our jurisdiction, but they're in the state jurisdiction. And we've had a lot of great success with working with the states to help bring our resources to help them. We don't wanna come and take the cases away from them, of course, cuz we don't have primary jurisdiction. But we want to offer our help to help them solve those cases. So we're seeing some really good uh coordination with the state agencies to bring our resources that we have to help them solve those cases as well.

Great. Thank you, Mr. Arrington. Many of the recommendations and things that we're talking about today focus on improving investigations after someone has gone missing, which is really important. But I wanted to just step back and talk a little bit about the the the the cause piece and and focusing on prevention. Let's let's say we were to reconvene in three years' time. What objective metrics would persuade numbers of Congress that we've actually reduced the MMI P crisis, rather than simply improving our ability to investigate it?

I think a couple of things. I think one is the missing person uh piece of it. We've gotta do more to make sure that it's not just a law enforcement problem. It's it's a social problem as well. We have a lot of people that goes missing, lot of young people, where we have things that's going on in the communities that we need to address through other means as well. So law enforcement has to team up uh with our social services partners in different things to help address some of those issues with with some of our young people in the communities but we also have to work to make sure that we're responding. If we have a missing person, we are finding now with people responding immediately, we're finding these people very quickly and getting them out of harm's way. And I think that's one thing that we're actually seeing in our metrics is like, we're finding these people very quickly, uh, and bringing them to safety. And then on the cold case side, it's being able to solve some of these cases using some of these, uh, analytical, these DNA and different metrics to help us, uh, solve those cases and bring results to family members. I think at the end of the day, if we can get more of that, that's gonna be the the telling story.

What would we look to? Like where would those data or those facts be collected? Like what's what's the resource that we could look to as members of Congress, to say yes, we're moving in the right direction on those things?

So our missing and murdered unit would be c- collecting all of that data, and then we have to utilize, of course, the FBI has NCIC, so we do uh, you know, when somebody goes missing, they are entered into NCIC and we try to collect that data as well, uh, to see how many people are in there, and then they take them out once they're So there's multiple different databases uh that we have to look at to get those metrics. But then there's also the NamUs uh that we uh it's not a mandatory reporting system, but it is a system we work very closely with. And the department did work uh with them back in two thousand nineteen or twenty, I believe, to actually put some demographics in their system to where we can actually identify if a person is native if they're a member of a federally recognized tribe, if they come up missing from a reservation. all these different uh demographics that we can actually uh search now. So that's another system that we can get metrics out of as well.

Great. Thank you very much, Mr. Addington. Uh, I see my time has expired at this time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from California, Mister Huffman, for five minutes. Mister Huffman.

Thank you, Mister Chair. Uh, and thank you, Director Addington. Um, I wanna ask you about uh how we're making good on what sounds like a shared commitment to to addressing this crisis and uh I wanna focus in on understanding the actual needs on the ground. As you know, the uh Tribal Law and Order Act requires BIA to submit an annual report identifying existing funding, staffing needs, and estimated costs for public safety and justice programs. So uh, just for starters, does does the administration intend to publish the reports for twenty, twenty-five and twenty-six?

Well, thank you for that question. I think the latest report is going through the vetting process right now. Uh, and we'll we've published all the others and it is going through the vetting process. So it should be uh out

Any sense on when we will see those published reports?

uh once it's better. Uh, I don't have a time frame,

Alright.

but I will take the information back and check and see when it will be published.

Alright, thank you. Um, so despite having a hiring waiver for uh this administration's mass workforce reductions. GAO reports that OJS uh experienced a four percent workforce reduction between January and July of last year. Recruitment and retention, uh we know is a long-standing issue with significant impacts. And earlier this year the committee heard testimony that OJS remains severely understaffed. And this leaves families waiting, sometimes months, to receive responses from the uh Missing and murdered unit, the MMU. So, Director Addingen, do you believe that allowing families to wait months for any contact from the MMU is appropriate or acceptable?

Well, thank you for that question. It's very important uh to me that we respond immediately uh whether it's whatever unit it is within the Office of Justice Services uh when we're working very diligently to make sure we're filling uh positions within the organization.

Do you consider the current um level of response and the current wait times acceptable?

Uh, we we can always do better. It's it's always uh, I don't think anyone could ever say at any uh, public safety program that I've worked with in my many years that we could always do better in in what we're doing.

What is the current vacancy rate within both OGAS and the MMU, if you know?

It it fluctuates. So like we have uh someone that will we we hire people, then we if we get someone that gets promoted or we have someone goes to a different unit, it fluctuates constantly. So uh one of the big hurdles that we have is kind of what you all have talked about earlier is that you know, the backgrounds. It takes a long time for us to get a background done on a on a position after selected. And if that person that we select then decides, hey, it's taking too long, I'm gonna move on to a different

You you're not able to peg a specific vacancy rate as a as we sit here? Uh, in May, the department issued Secretarial Order thirty four fifty honoring our commitment to protecting Indian country communities. Uh, and that order states that the MMU will focus on responding to missing person cases, investigating homicides and cold cases, and processing crime scenes. Can you provide more detail on how this secretarial order will change operations of the MMU?

Yes, sir. Well, thank you for that question. I I alluded to it a little bit earlier. I think in the past they've they've kind of got to where they were working on some things other than their core responsibilities. So we're refocusing them back on those core responsibilities and making sure any other responsibilities are uh dedicated to other uh branches or other divisions. Uh, and one of the things that we've just done is we've just hired a brand new division chief uh for the missing and murdered unit that's got a a different vision uh for the, the program. She uh, Sabrina She's sitting here in the audience and we just selected her. She's coming from uh Washington State. She's an assistant special agent in charge with with us right now. And she also comes with a tribal background, being a public safety director for the Colville tribe. So she's bringing a different perspective to this unit. And that's what I'm looking forward to bring in to make sure that we're refocusing uh the resources to what we're supposed to be doing with this. So that's what we're doing.

Uh, understood. Other than the the change in personnel. Can you identify any specific changes, though, to operations at the MMU as a result of this secretarial order?

Yeah, so the the response to missing person cases. So, we're making sure that there is an MMU agent that is responding immediately to a report of a missing person. Uh, prior to now, uh, they may get on the phone with them and do analyticals in different things, but we're actually making sure that there is a agent responding as well as providing those other resources. We also have a lot of uh other resources. We got underwater drones, we've got uh ground penetrating radar, all these other resources, it's available to the tribes and to the BIA agencies out there. We're making sure that all of those are available immediately to everyone.

Alright, thank you, sir. You're back.

Gentleman Nils, at this time the chair recognizes uh his colleague, the chairman of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, the gentleman from Arizona, Mister Gosar for five minutes. Mister Gosar.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. Mister Annington, with twenty-two federally recognized tribes, Arizona is unfortunately too familiar with this MIP crisis. In twenty twenty-three, a series of Phoenix substance abuse recovery facilities targeted tribal members, some of which were declared missing persons. To operate this scam, recruiters targeted vulnerable tribal members seeking help for con substance abuse and held them in rehab facilities. To flee the the government of Medicaid and other health benefits, health care benefits. Have you uncovered other cases like the dangerous and fraudulent Phoenix rehab facilities that exacerbated the MIPP crisis?

Uh, thank you for that question. I I don't have any uh analytics specifically on that. Uh, as we look at each one of these cases, we do look at background, but I don't have anything uh specific that I can provide you without going back and and

Do you have any idea of the other cases with that,

Having an information.

or would you have to get back to me as well?

I I think it's very um, I would have to go back and look. Uh, I don't wanna speculate, but the the every case has uh usually has a background behind it. So I would have to go back and and look.

The subcommittee on EMR just discussed earth MRI and the use of LIDAR to examine earth's geology, but this LIDAR is also being used to identify remains. Is that correct?

Uh, can you can you repeat that?

Yes. The the EMR subcommittee just discussed Earth MRI. And it's used in LIDAR of LIDAR to examine the Earth's geology. But that this LIDAR is also being used to identify remains. Is that correct?

Uh, we are using the the technology too. We have LIDAR, we have uh different scanners. We got all kinds of different technology that we're using to identify remains.

Is there anything on the that you're immediately aware of? very new on the horizon that could be utilized in helping uh tribes with this anil-NPT crisis.

I think the biggest thing is our our DNA uh in our analytics is is the biggest thing that's helping tribes. Uh, I know uh our DNA uh resources that we're using through Othram right now has been a big help in we we've had multiple cases that we've responded to uh where if it wouldn't have been for the DNA resources, and been able to get

Now, is there any kind of possibility to utilize like an amber alert? Uh, and what would be the disadvantages or advantages to something like that?

No, we absolutely uh wanna use amber alert in the states. A lot of the different states have specific alerts that we wanna make sure that we're utilizing we wanna work specifically with those states to make sure that we're getting alerts out for tribes uh as as soon as someone goes missing cause that is a a key tool in finding missing persons is that we get a response as quick as possible out there. in case someone runs across them some and and they run their name or someone sees them, they can report that so we can get them located.

Now uh would there be any uh problem with that, do you know, in regards uh the cooperation with that? Uh do you see any hangups? Because this is a technology I think it would work very very well.

I think in in most cases it is, I know some states uh we have heard from tribes where there's been some issues with maybe uh states putting some tribal uh notifications out, but I think they're trying to work through those to make sure that they're, they've got a good relationship with the state to put those local uh alerts out as well.

Eh from your experience, is there one weak point in regards to this communication system for for tribes?

I think the biggest thing is to make sure that we get it out uh everywhere. And I think, you know, amber alert works well, but it also works in certain regions, so you need to make sure that if someone comes up missing, that we're getting the information to uh the authorities of where that missing person may be going to, and make sure we get it out wide enough to cover any areas that they may be missing or be going to.

Thank you, sir. Yeah, I'll yield back to her some other time. Thank you.

The gentleman yields. At this time, the chair recognizes the gentleman from the state of Oregon, Miss Hoyle, for five minutes. Miss Hoyle.

Thank you, Mister Chair. Um, and I wanna thank you for your testimony today, Mister Addington. This is an important and overdue hearing. The M M I P epidemic is one of the most serious public safety crises facing Indian country today and it's a tragedy that no family or community should have to endure. The federal government has a trust responsibility to help protect the safety and well-being of tribal communities and for too long we've fallen short of that responsibility. In Oregon, a public law, two eighty state tribal communities know of countless cases of missing and murdered indigenous peoples across the state. But because of lack of staffing, chronic underfunding and jurisdictional confusion, we may never know the true numbers. I know you're you're familiar with this issue. Um, but these stories are more than numbers. They're daughters, sisters, mothers, sons, fathers and children whose families are still waiting for answers and justice. Families should not have to fight for justice to be served, and tribal land should never be open season for perpetrators to commit these tragedies. I'm most concerned about the staffing shortages at the BIA for decades. The BIA's federal public safety program serving trial tribal communities have struggled with inadequate resources. And the Trump administration's budget cuts have just made this problem worse. For example, I'm aware that the missing and murdered uh uh unit or MMU is being consolidated in the President's fiscal year twenty twenty-seven budget request into a single budget line, this office is critical for tribes to navigate the on the ground challenges of investigating and prosecuting these crimes. And if we're serious about supporting Native Nations, we need to make sure critical public safety programs have the staff and resources necessary to do their jobs. i strongly support practical solutions to make sure tribes have reliable partners at every level tribal local state and federal to investigate these cases and deliver justice for victims and families but i don't see how that can happen if the federal public safety programs tribal communities rely on face significant funding cuts so a couple of questions one public uh law two eighty tribes face unique jurisdictional challenges. How is the BIA working to support PL two eighty tribes and law enforcement?

Well, thank you for that question. And we do run into this quite often in the public law two eighty state where we have to work hand-in-hand with the tribes in the state to make sure we bridge those jurisdictional gaps and we do that try we try to get cross deputization and make sure, uh, that there is no jurisdictional gaps and that we are got mutual aid agreements where we can help each other. So we can bring resources to the table to help the state or the tribe in those areas. So there's not one agency that's saying, OK, I'm responsible for everything. We wanna be a partner in that. We wanna make sure that we're helping tribes uh bridge those gaps with those states.

Uh-huh.

So there's not no jurisdictional inviting of who's gonna be responding to what. If it's on the reservation, we wanna make sure the tribes are involved in those investigations. and ever how we can bridge those gaps. We do that in in uh in all the public law two eighty states.

Alright, thank you. Um, how will you make sure as we're using uh technology, how will you make sure that any data sharing agreement utilized by the BIA OJS aligns with tribal data sovereignty?

So if tribes uh are submitting their data, our data doesn't go out uh to any other agencies other than the federal agencies that were required to report to. So we wouldn't be sharing their data with a non-federal agency unless the tribes, uh, share that data with them. So we try to protect that data, uh, since it is submitted to us and it only goes to the people that were required to share it with like the criminal reporting requirements.

And then data that is received, picked up by federal agencies, will that be shared with tribes?

Yes, the tribe should be able to go on to DOJ's website, cuz we report it to DOJ as well. So when the tribe submit to us, then we report to DOJ, and then it it actually gets published by DOJ.

All right. And reciprocally, vice versa, right?

Yeah, yes.

Federal, OK. Um Uh, and my next question was how to make sure tribes and sovereignations we'll be full federal partners in prosecuting these crimes, but there's these crimes, but there's only eleven more uh seconds. But I would like to have a full answer on that because that is critical, and not a balance that we've necessarily seen in the past.

Yeah, and we're working with the US Attorney's offices to make sure that tribal cases are being prosecuted uh to the fullest extent as well and they're not falling through a a gap, because I I was actually working for a tribe once I retired from the federal government. A few years ago, I went around a tribal program and I seen uh on the tribal side we had some uh work to do to make sure our cases were actually getting prosecuted. And we worked very closely with the US Attorney's Office to make sure those cases uh were getting prosecuted. But we gotta make sure we're bridging those gaps as well.

Great. Thank you and thank you, Mister Chair.

Chairman, this time is expired. At this time, the chair recognizes the gentleman from Idaho. Mister Simpson for five minutes. Mister Simpson.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. Down there. It's good to be here and thank you for inviting uh those of us that don't sit on the committee to uh attend today. This has been a subject that uh as being Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Committee that I've been interested in for a number of years. Uh and since we've talked about it a little bit and people have talked about the appropriation and stuff let me say that in our House Interior Appropriation Bill provided We provided significant increases in funding and direction to support the efforts to combat the issue of missing and murdering indigenous people. Law enforcement programs within BIA are funded at seven hundred and seventy-five million which is an increase of two hundred and five million, which is about a twenty-six percent increase in this year alone. This increase supports additional hundred and forty-two million for criminal investigations police services and additional seventeen million for law enforcement special initiatives with a total of thirty-three million, specifically for mur for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Initiative. Uh, within criminal investigations and police services, the bill includes five million to support the application of forensic genetic genealogy, uh, in an investi as an investigative tool to identify missing and murdered individuals, uh, through operations spirit return. Uh, this year's, these are some significant increases that we've done. Are they enough? I don't know. We held a hearing on this last year. Uh, it was one of the more important hearings I think that we've heard. And in fact, may be the most important committee hearing that this committee has. When I tell people that we lose six thousand murdered and missing Indigenous people every year, they're shocked. That's twice as many as we lost on nine and eleven. And we do that every year. But yet the general public doesn't know that. And we're really good talking about how shocked it, we are about all this. But we need more than talk. We need actions. We need to solve this problem. And while I know that it's important that we identify those uh cold cases and try to identify those and bring some some uh answers to to the relatives and so forth, I wanna stop it from happening somehow. And one of the things that I found after our hearings that we held in our committee, it's not just a money issue. It's almost more a jurisdictional issue than it is anything else, and it's very complicated. I understand a lot of Indian issues. I've been studying them for a long, long time. And when you get to the area of law enforcement, it gets so complicated. Uh, as an example, uh, in a non-PL two eighty state. If the offender is Indian, the victim is Indian, and the crime is a major crime, the federal government and tribal government split jurisdiction. However, if a non-major crime is committed, and under the same scenario, it's solely a tribal jurisdiction. And I can tell you some stories of people that I've talked to, that I've told me their stories, that it is completely jurisdictional. And somehow, this is beyond the appropriations process. This is something that needs to be done either through this committee or their, or the uh uh judiciary committee to address this issue. this should not be this damn complicated. And somehow we've gotta change that. So what can we do to make this more simple, so that we address this issue instead of quit talking about it?

Well, thank you for that question, and the bi- the biggest thing that w- we can do is make sure that there is no gaps, uh, in jurisdiction. Uh, and that's right now we're doing that through cross-deputization agreements and making sure everyone's at the table. Uh, if you don't have everyone at the table that has jurisdiction or thinks they have jurisdiction, so everyone knows what their part is, uh, then you're gonna have something that's gonna fall through a hole. I I can use a g- an example that recently where we h we found uh, a uh, some remains uh, on a reservation and they had such a good working relationship, which is how it's supposed to work. We had the tribe, we had the federal government. We had the state examiner's office, we had everybody out on that crime scene working hand in hand, investigating that crime because everyone may have a piece in it at some point because they didn't know if the victim was a native, non-native, or the suspect was native or non-native. So everybody worked together to make sure that there was no jurisdictional gaps. That's how it's supposed to work. But we still have issues in many places in the country where, you know, Somebody don't want somebody because they don't want them in their jurisdiction. They don't understand jurisdiction. And we have to bridge those gaps. And I think.

I don't understand all this jurisdiction stuff. If I find some remains and they're on the reservation, why aren't the tribes in charge of it?

Yeah, and that's normally how it works.

Why don't they do the jo- I mean, cuz they have the capabilities and the ability and we oughta trust them to do the damn job. And instead it is just cross jurisdictional and whose jurisdiction is it, and all that kind of stuff. And it's just too damn complicated. Sorry for the language, but it is too damn complicated. And it, and it needs to, we need to simplify it somehow, and I don't, I don't have the answer to do that, but it's, like, I don't understand for the life of me why Native Americans aren't, and all tribes, aren't in the Alambris, uh, the Amber Alert system automatically. They're people just like us.

Absolutely.

So I don't know why it's an issue that we're doing, but we have to deal with it. So, it is confusing, I appreciate the job you do, it is a very, very difficult job. But this is something that we need to quit talking about, and start finding solutions, and start enacting those solutions. And if it requires more money to do these things, I'm more than willing, uh, as you know, and we do this in the, in the Interior Committee. For all of you that might not know, this is probably the most bipartisan issue that we deal with in the, in the Interior Com- uh, Appropriations Committee, both Republicans and Democrats. uh, are interested in this. So, I appreciate you inviting me to be here today and to participate in this, because it is an important issue, not only for this country, but it's important personally too.

Indeed it is. Thank you very much, um, Representative Simpson, at this time the chair recognizes the gentleman from the state of New Mexico Ms. Stansbury for five minutes. Ms. Stansbury.

Thank you. And actually I wanna thank the chairman of the Appropriations Committee subcommittee because your leadership in making sure that our tribal communities and BIA is funded has been really vital, especially over the last several years. So we appreciate the work that you're doing to make sure our tribes are whole, especially in a time when unfortunately the administration has continuously proposed to slash funding. And I think we can't have this conversation without noting that the administration has proposed to cut BIA's funding by twenty-seven percent. And that includes a two percent fund funding cut to justice services. But it's also important to understand that tribes get a lot of their money to do this work we're talking about today, through the Department of Justice. And the Office of Justice Programs at DOJ, which provides the vast majority of grants to both tribes for doing law enforcement as well as for survivor and victim services,

Amazing.

is cut by twenty-two point seven percent in this budget. Twenty-two percent. VAWA, which was, change, you know, like game-changing for our communities. There's cuts to uh funding for tribes, cuts for victim services, cuts to housing to help people who are escaping domestic violence. And so what I find so difficult about this conversation is that, I know, Mister Addington, I read your bio, you have dedicated your life to law enforcement. Thank you for your service. Thank you for stepping up to lead in this moment. But how can we sit around this dais and say this is a bipartisan issue, when we have an administration who is threatening to cut these programs by almost a quarter across the board? If you turn around and look behind you, this room is filled with people who work in this space, predominantly women. Because behind every single statistic that we're talking about here today, is a sister, A mother? A daughter? A person who is missing? These are real people. These are people from our communities. Last year there were almost ten thousand people reported to the FBI as missing in indigenous communities. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We don't know who was not reported. And there is no credible evidence that it is getting any better. The statistics do not say that it is getting any better. And so, I mean, I have to ask you, Mister Addington, I know you're here to talk about your work, your passion, I know this is something you care about. But it's not working. And this administration is threatening to cut funding for the programs we do know that work. And in New Mexico, I can tell you because of Doge, because of the executive orders for cutting funding, Most of our victim services programs, because they serve indigenous people and because they serve they serve diverse populations actually had their funding frozen. Victim services money never went out to our NGOs. This administration is actually trying to bankrupt a lot of those NGOs right now. And so I have to ask you, do you think it's working? Do you think that this administration's approach to this is working?

Well, thank you for the question. I I can only speak to what I am responsible for, uh, which is the law enforcement piece, and we are prioritizing the, uh, resources that we have. And and I don't know if you heard earlier, but we are actually putting money out to the tribes, uh, now that hasn't went out before. So we're actually putting more money out to the tribes where they can put more boots on the ground to be a part of these. So I I we are definitely making it work. uh at our programs and we're we have to make it better uh that's what we're here to do and you know we've we always look to make things better there's i don't think like i say earlier any law enforcement program can ever say that they can't make things better we can

yep

and we've got to and that takes a collaborative effort between all of us so we're here to work with this committee and and anyone uh the the grassroot uh folks out in the field to do what we can do to make it better and that's what i'm committed to doing

well thank you Thank you. And and I'm I'm not trying to take it out on you. I know you're a career civil servant that's done this work your whole life. But uh but I do wanna make the point. And I can tell you the tribes in New Mexico that come and visit with me every day, it's not getting better.

Mm-hmm.

It's it's not OK. Things are not OK on the ground, including in law enforcement. Between Doge, between people retiring, it was already hard to recruit people into BIA law enforcement. between the cuts at doj to law enforcement funding it is not ok out there and if the president's cuts to bia go through you're gonna have tribal governments that are gonna have to reallocate operational funding away from law enforcement so i i ask you in your leadership role to take this back to the administration and to really fight for our communities because it has to change

this sounds very your your time has expired the gentleman's time has expired this time the chair recognizes the gentleman from arkansas mister westerman for five minutes mister westerman

Thank you, Chairman Hurd, and uh, Mr. Addington, thank you again for being here. Thank you for the exceptional work that you're doing. And I would like to give you an opportunity to explain more about changes that have been made and how more money is getting out to where it needs to be, where the right personnel are being uh employed, and how you are making a difference. Because my understanding is that uh things are happening, that the statistics show that you are making a difference. And just because something's been done some way

Well, thank you for that question. And and like I said earlier, we can always do things better, we're always looking at ways to streamline uh processes and we're we're looking at resources uh these different technology tools and things that we're bringing in, is helping us uh use less resources to do things that we normally would have done in the past one of the things we're doing in the missing and murdered We're looking at the missing and murdered unit and where do we have agents located? Why do we have them there? Are they being effective where they're at? I mean, we're we're looking at the holi holistic approach of everything that we're doing, and we're making changes. That hasn't been done uh over the last few years, so we're we're doing that now. We're actually taking uh performance metrics in our in our law enforcement offices as a whole. And if we're not performing, we're making changes. Uh, I don't you you all may not see that here at your level, but we are making positive changes in some of our offices where we've had maybe some not so much in the performance areas we're making those changes to make it better. And it's gonna take some time uh to see those results because we're we're talking, you know, years and years of of things that we're trying to change. And, you know, the staffing resources uh, like I say, it's not just at BIA. it's every agency across the nation in public safety. We've gotta get more people on the ground to make those effective changes, and we're doing that as well. We're doing every kind of incentive that we can do, uh, at our hard to fill duty locations. We're offering bonuses. We're doing, uh, anything we can do to do that. We're looking at the housing, uh, that officers are having to live in. Uh, we're trying everything we can to do that. But it's gonna take some time, uh, for us to get there, but we are making those changes. to make sure that our programs are being more productive and we're getting results. So I think you're gonna start seeing some results in some of these as we move forward with some of these uh pretty progressive changes.

Well, it's encouraging to know that you're you're working smarter. It's encouraging to know, as uh uh Chairman Simpson said, the Preparations Committee is looking at this issue more closely. And when we talk about working smarter, I know you said in your testimony, talking about AI powered tools, you said they "help investigators organize large volumes of case information, identify patterns, prioritize leads, and review investigative materials more efficiently". Can you elaborate on that a little bit more and talk maybe some specific examples, how AI has has helped in what you see for the future of employing not only AI technology, but other technologies to work smarter and to get better results.

You bet. Well, thank you for that question. I'll just give you an example. I was I was just uh probably two months ago, I was sitting across the table from from the secretary and he asked a specific question about if we're using AI to work on the missing and murdered initiative. And we got to talking about, you know, the things that we were doing. And he looked back at his uh his um chief uh information officer and said, get with them and get them the tools they need to do ABCD. And they immediately assigned someone to us. to start working with these ai analytical tools to uh gather up all the missing and murdered data out of our reporting system and right now they're going through these large volumes of data to actually uh separate it and i uh analyze it to see if there's any uh things that can uh pop out to give leads on these cases or uh things that had maybe missed by investigators that's inside of these reports. So they're actually utilizing these tools right now to take all the man hours that we would have an analyst to set and go through these reports over and over. And we still miss things, uh, as human error can happen. Uh, these analytical tools are can give you a wealth of information in things that you might not.

Are you able to share that data across different, uh, enforcement agencies? And can you briefly describe how how the cooperation with other agencies is going.

Yeah, so we working hand-in-hand with the other federal agencies as well. So we we're working with the FBI cuz they get a lot of the missing and murdered uh reports as well. So if they're working a uh cold case, instead of the BIA, we have to work hand-in-hand with them to make sure we're sharing that data back and forth. So we're working with them to do that and it's going very well uh as we share information. Uh, but I think uh using these analytical data ai systems is also going to help us, you know, get these cases moving forward that's been sitting stagnant for a long period of time. Because someone, a case agent, trying to go through and do an investigative plan on these cases can use ai, to actually help do those and get something done much quicker. So we can go through a lot more data in a lot shorter period of time and start getting some of these cases off the books.

Thank you again. My time has expired, Mr. Chairman.

The gentleman's time has indeed expired. At this time, the chair recognizes the gentleman from the state of Arizona, Miss Grijalva, for five minutes. Miss Grijalva.

Thank you, Chairman Hurd. Um, and thank you all for being here, and thank you, Chairman S- um, Simpson, for your contribution to the hearing. I agreed with everything that you said. Um, for Arizona, this is a very deeply personal issue. My district is home to four federally recognized tribal nations, and indigenous families have lived with the devastating reality of missing and murdered Indigenous people for far too long. Um, too many families know what it means to search for a loved one without answers, to navigate overlapping jurisdictions with delayed justice and to feel abandoned by systems that should have protected them. This crisis did not happen by accident. It is rooted in generations of underinvestment of public in public safety, failures to uphold tribal sovereignty, and policies that have left tribal communities without the resources they deserve. I was a county supervisor before coming here, and we worked with indivisible Tohono, the city of Tucson, Pima County, trying to come up with solutions. But the problem really has to do with these incredible roadblocks that are fixes, I believe, only the federal government can really um provide. So, addressing MMIP, the crisis is more than, has to be more than promises. And this is one of the fullest hearing rooms that i've had that i've seen since i've been here in congress and it shows the critically how critically important this issue is and um we have to invest in tribal law enforcement victim services, data sharing, cultural informed prevention efforts while ensuring that tribal nations remain full partners in every decision that affects our communities so the you know the bureau of Indian Affairs, twenty twenty four, Tribal Law and Order Act estimated the report estimated that the total public safety and justice need for Indian country in twenty twenty one was three point five billion, with one point seven billion for law enforcement alone. And within your testimony you stated that the department's budget reflects a commitment to improving public safety and addressing violent crime throughout Indian country, yet your request only included five hundred and sixty million, for public safety and justice programs, a decrease of nine point seven million from the prior fiscal year. So given the IA's own assessment of need and the ongoing MMI P crisis, how do you acknowledge how do you acknowledge the budget request submitted to the department does not meet, can you acknowledge that does not meet the actual public safety needs in Indian country?

Well, thank you for that question. And and we are trying to take in all of our resources and make sure that we're meeting the needs the best we can with what we are provided. So we're looking at ways of streamlining uh our resources and working smarter uh with what we have.

Yeah, I think a nine point seven million dollar decrease from the previous year, I don't that's just a lack of resources. Um, so I'd like to note that Arizona is one of the few public law two hundred and eighty states creating unique jurisdictional landscape where state, tribal, and federal responsibilities interact. While PL two eighty expands certain state jurisdiction, it does not diminish tribal sovereignty or federal trust responsibility. That makes sustained federal investment in tribal law enforcement courts and victim services all the more important, particularly as we address MMIP um. So how is the Department of Interior ensuring that tribal nations in Arizona receive equitable funding and technical support for their justice systems in law enforcement despite the unique jurisdictional challenges of PL two eighty.

Well, thank you for that question, and we work very closely with the tribes in Arizona and trying to partner with them to make sure that we are sharing resources and providing them uh any additional resources that we have available to them uh just kind of like I talked about with the missing and murdered funding we're gonna make sure that tribes in Arizona are receiving some of that funding to help them uh work on these specific issues as well.

Are there additional steps the department is taking to address any remaining resource gaps that those communities face?

Uh, we we're always talking with the tribal leadership about uh resources and where there's an ability for us to provide something to fill a a gap. So we do provide also uh at the end of the year we provide funding to those tribes to try to fill any resource gaps when we have it available as well.

K. The Not Invisible Act Commission found that development projects such as extractive industries that bring outside workers on established man camps are significant contributors to missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, and human trafficking near tribal communities. What is the department doing to protect tribal communities as it accelerates energy development on federal lands?

So we're doing a couple different things. So we actually have a unit that that uh monitors those man camps to make sure if there's human trafficking uh investigations or things that's going on there. Uh, they do operations at those, and we also just started a new predatory crime unit that's actually monitoring all the social media and the different web sites where a lot of these, uh, folks will actually reach out and try to contact people to, uh, lure young women into these camps. Uh, we're actually working cases in multiple states, including yours right now. Uh. So we're doing that as well. So it's just starting to get more and more. Now look, we started

As my, as my time's expired, I would love to see specific details of what that looks like, because I have to say from Arizona's perspective, we don't see it. Thank you. I yield back.

Gentleman's time has expired at this time. The chair recognized the gentleman from the state of Washington, Mister Newhouse, for five minutes. Mister Wash- Mister Newhouse.

We'll go with that, Mr. Washington. Uh

Uh, thank you, Chairman Hurd. Um, also Chairman Gosar and Westerman and all the members of the allowing me to wave on to the panel today. Uh, certainly appreciate the opportunity to shed more light on this very important and troubling issue that we're seeing across the country uh and also to continue my advocacy for more awareness and more resources uh to uh dedicated to this issue you know I I truly am after working on this issue for a long time very heartened to see the room full of people uh not only interested persons but also members of congress, uh not just the committee members either, but there's been a lot of non-committee members that have uh come to to be part of this today. So that's that's a that's a good sign that we're gaining a lot of uh interest and urgency around this issue. Mister Adding uh Addington, you you're you said you're in charge of law enforcement on uh Indian reservations. Uh I'll take that. uh, literally, uh, very interested in getting some of your thoughts, uh, on an issue that's been brought up. I think Miss Randall brought it up and others. But, um, we've been working very hard on the parity for tribal law enforcement act. Uh, certainly has, uh, I think it would be a great step forward, trying to get it through some of the hurdles that we have in Congress. But I'd like to get your thoughts on it, perhaps Specific, specifically on that, but also more broadly, if you could address um where we are on recruitment and retention of law enforcement off officers on uh tribal law enforcement agencies. You know, it's it's one thing to have the resources available and the tools and the all the AI and all the all the great stuff that are absolutely necessary but when it comes down to it we we gotta have people, we gotta have manpower, we've gotta have the uh the somebody to put into place and use those tools and resources that we're trying to provide and fund, uh not only to address the cases, but as has been mentioned to try to prevent this from happening in the first place. So could you kinda give me your thoughts and tell the committee where where you think we are and where we need to go?

Yes sir, well thank you for that question. So As I've stated earlier, recruitment and retention in in not only tribal law enforcement, but all law enforcement and public safety right now is just very, very uh disheartening because no one wants to get into public safety anymore. With some of the events that's went on over the last many years, it's very hard to talk someone into to come into law enforcement. Uh, we go out and try to do recruitment events at colleges in different uh uh locations and try to talk, you know, people into coming over to public safety and uh we just don't get as many people, uh, that's interested in it. And we talked to the tribal programs as well, and they're running into the same problem. And then when they do get someone hired on, you know, if someone's paying more down the road, they get trained, they go down the road to that agency, well then they're down there for a little while, then something happens and then they get a better job. some other agency and then they go to that agency. So the pool is very limited and I think that's the biggest uh factor in not getting public safety people on board uh across the board is no one's interested in getting into the field anymore uh and then for us at the BIA it's it's the process is very difficult you know the background uh process takes takes a long period of time to get somebody on and if you don't have a job and you're waiting to come on, can't wait that long to come on. So you're starting to look for something else,

Right.

and then you go get a job somewhere else and you're not interested anymore. So there's a whole uh bunch of different factors that factors into that. And I think we just have to do more to try to get people interested in into the law enforcement field. Uh, because there's not the in interest anymore. We used to when we would get a certificate, uh, which is the list that we get that's got people that's interested in jobs. that used to have multiple people on it, now you're lucky if you get one or two. It's it's very disheartening. Uh, but I don't know what more we can do other than promote the the public safety field, because it is a very important field and all these people sitting behind me, that's uh victims uh families or or victims themselves deserve uh you know us to make sure that we've got that public safety staff on board to make sure they're getting answers to those families. So Uh, we're doing all we can at the interior to try to do that. We're we're pulling out every stop that we can. Uh, I I see other agencies, uh, offering all kinds of bonuses and they're still not getting that many people on. So, we just gotta do more and try to get people interested in public safety.

Yeah, I appreciate that, uh, perspective. And certainly, uh, I would take that, uh, if I could, as a, uh, endorsement at least of theory of support for the, uh, parity for tribal law enforcement, uh, uh which we're working on very hard and hope to get that in place soon. So, uh thank you Mister Chairman, I appreciate the uh the five minutes, but also being waved on to the committee. Thank you.

Thank you uh Mister Newhouse, your time has expired. At this time the chair recognizes the General Woman from the State of Wyoming, Miss Hagerman for five minutes. Miss Hagerman.

Thank you and thank you for allowing me to wave on to this committee, it's good to be back. Uh thank you Mister Addington for being here and providing such valuable information. The missing and murdered Indigenous person crisis is not new. in something that tribal communities like the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming have been dealing with for decades. Getting a handle on this crisis involves overcoming significant hurdles in the execution of federal laws in coordination with our with our tribal, state, and local partners. But new challenges have arisen. The Natural Resources Committee has conducted ex- extensive oversight into the surge of drug and violent crime on tribal reservations because of the Biden border crisis. Mister Addington, what has the fallout of an open border been on tribal communities, and does this make it more difficult to address long-standing issues like MMIP, when thinking about resource allocation and priorities?

Well, thank you for that question. And I think, uh, you know, the drug aspect of the missing and murdered, uh, cases that we see we see a lot of drug activity in some of those cases. And I think, uh, you know, most of the the drugs coming into the United States is coming from out of country. So, uh, we don't have drugs made in the United States like we used to have before all the precursor laws and things went into effect. So, you know, allowing, uh, you know, the drugs to come into the country and not being able to stop all of that from meeting, getting to our communities uh, it has been devastating and it does lend to, uh, not only the missing and murdered initiative, but all the violent crime, uh, that's going on throughout the nation. Uh, a lot of our violent crime is tied to some type of substance abuse, whether it be drug, alcohol, or whatever. Uh, so we have to do more to make sure that we're keeping that, uh, the, you know, the fentanyl, the meth, and all the different things out of our community. So, we don't you know, enhance those violent crimes and missing person cases by having that out there. So we're our division in drug enforcement is working very diligently with the tribes to make sure that we're running the operations to try to, uh, disrupt those drug trafficking organizations from bringing that in in our communities. And we're doing a lot of great work doing that, but we can't stop at all. We have to be partners with our states, our locals, our other federal partners to make sure that we're being effective.

We've had a couple of hearings on this particular issue, the impact of the open borders on our tribal communities. And the tribal members that have come and testified have stated that the open borders and the, uh, ready access for the cartels and things to tribal members has been absolutely devastating to their communities. I understand that the FBI is specifically working on that particular issue to try to address it, which I welcome that, and I appreciate your understanding of the issue as well. In this hearing today, we are examining how new technologies can assist in addressing these public safety concerns. But, Mister Addington, have criminal actors become more sophisticated in their tactics and the use of technology to prey on our tribal communities?

Absolutely. Uh, I just one example is our predatory crime unit, uh, that we just established with under the secretary of order. Uh, just talking to our our agents that run that unit, it is absolutely amazing. uh, of the stuff that they tell us that these, uh, criminals are doing out there with technology right now.

Could you give us some examples, please?

Uh, well, so like luring, uh, young girls, uh, into either meeting with them or into some type of sex acts. Uh, I, I can't go into details about specific cases, but they're using all kinds of technology to, um, to try to send different, uh, things to them, try to groom them, try to lure them in to end up meeting with them. They're using all these apps and it's very difficult for law enforcement to try to to catch them, so some of the messages and things don't stay very long and they go away, so we have to be uh use better technology or better ways to catch them before uh they can be uh meet up with those people in harm.

So what is the Office of Justice programs doing to respond to these evolving threats? And what can Congress do to support these efforts?

I think uh, you know, we're we're doing as much as we can by starting these different programs and and advancing our technology. Uh, that's the biggest things we can do, just like in the missing, murdered side of the house. You know, our DNA uh, technology that we're utilizing right now has been a game changer for us, to make sure we're working on these cases. And same thing with our AI analytical tools. Uh, we just don't have the the people that can sit there for hours, cuz we have so many cases uh, to analyze if we're using these AI tools. It's helping us shrink that time frame down. So I think giving us the support to make sure that we can utilize those tools, it is paramount for us.

Thank you. I appreciate you being here and uh, taking this ser- this issue as seriously as it warrants. Uh, thank you for your caring for our tribal communities. With that, I yield back.

Gentlemen, this time has expired. Uh, Mister Addington, I wanna thank you for your testimony and also my colleagues uh for their questions. At this time, I would ask the clerk to reset the witness table for our second panel.

Thank you all.

i will now introduce the witnesses for our second panel Mister O J Siemens, Senior Executive Director, Coalition for Large Tribes Mission, South Dakota. Miss Abigail Echohawk, Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, Washington. Doctor Grace Boulthel, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison Madison, Wisconsin. And Doctor David Middleton, Executive, Chief Executive Officer, Othram, Inc., Incorporated, Woodlands, Texas. Let me remind the witnesses that under committee rules, you must limit your oral statement to five minutes, but your whole entire statement will be prepared in the hearing record. To begin your testimony, you'll push the on button on so we can hear you, and it your timing light will be green. When you see the yellow you need to wrap it up, it gives you about a minute, and when it's red you need to kind of curtail that. I will now recognize Mister Siemens for his five minutes.

Hey honey wash day, good morning. Uh, chairman, ranking members, members of the committee. Uh, first of all, I wanna thank you for this opportunity uh, to testify on this matter today. My name is OJ Siemens senior. I'm an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe, and my, I am the executive director of the coalition of large tribes.

Mm-hmm. You know what's going on.

Ah.

Those are my actual passing comments.

Oh, OK. Um, so in order to be a member of the coalition of large tribes, you have to meet a certain criteria. That criteria is you have to have at least one hundred thousand acres of land. And the reason I say this is because of the five hundred and seventy-five federally recognized tribes only f- little over fifty tribes meet that criteria. And those tribes actually control ninety-five percent of the tribal land. And I think that's really important to uh, uh, let you know that as we go along, we start talking about uh, cases in Indian country. Uh, today I wanna focus on some real practical solutions. But I also wanna start off by thanking uh, FBI agent director uh, Kash Patel for his focus on MMI piece. Um, and his actual meeting with code executive officers uh, back in July of twenty twenty five. Um. We also appreciate his operation, not forgotten, in the efforts to send FBI personnel to Indian country to address violent crimes and missing, uh, people. Now, I think what's really important that he's done that, is the commitment must be become measurable, repeatable, and permanent. Goat specifically appreciates the special order thirty four fifty that launches an Indian country violent crimes task force to strengthen law enforcement conditions. or coordinations and protect families. End end violent crimes and drug activity in Indian country. The orders direction that VIA coordinates with DOJ, FBI, tribal police and other programs, actually gives Congress here a a practical implementation framework for this hearing moving forward. Uh, one thing I wanna say, because this is about MMIPs, is we have to say their names. Ali May Begay. Navajo Nation, MMI P. Navajo Nation. Thomas Rock Road Junior, Northern Cheyenne, homicide. Tylen Volundru, who was a um honor student within the um his school, um was is homicide and he's from the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. Savannah Standing Bear, she is also from the Rosebud Sioux Union Reservation. And just last Father's Day, We had Steven Lopez, a ten year old Pine Ridge boy who was shot in the head on Father's Day while he was sitting in his living room. DOJ must have a full operational partner. M every MMP homicide or violent case should have a federal contact point for tribes tribal leaders and tribal police. They should be able to engage the US Attorney's Office in a rapid response We should have timely forensic support, family communications, written coordination protocol from DOJ, FBI, BIA, tribal law enforcement and victim service providers. Three, thirty four, fifty should now implement, and I think this is really, uh, now that it's implemented, is really important is that it sh- has to have tribal governments as full partners moving forward. They, they know their people, they know their, their area. And they they need to be a part of the the uh system, having federal contact points, written escalation protocol, after action reviews, transparent metrics, and a formal mechanism for tribes and families to evaluate stalled MMIP homicide and violent crimes. One of the things I wanna talk about real quick is we we saw this problem uh years ago as a coalition of large tribes and we set up an MMI W training. Well, we brought in uh, VDAC, we brought in BIA, we brought in the academy, we brought in uh, domestic violence uh, people. And we had three day training, giving them the basics of of investigations. Uh, one of the main things that we did is we started a communication between the states, the tribe, the governments, uh, the counties, the municipalities in order to develop communication. Uh, the only other thing I wanna say real quick before I run out of time is VAWA needs to be enforced uh and we do have a uh s- solution for jurisdictional issues. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Siemens, for your testimony. The chair now recognizes Miss Echo Hawk for her five minutes.

Chairman, ranking members, and members of the committee, thank you so much for this invitation and the opportunity to speak the truth of what is happening in our community. My name is Abigail Echo Hawk. I'm a citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. I'm the Executive Vice President of the Seattle Indian Health Board, an urban Indian health program in Seattle, Washington, where I also direct the Urban Indian Health Institute, the nation's only national tribal epidemiology center. In two thousand eighteen, UIHI, the Urban Indian Health Institute, released the very first report of its kind detailing the sexual assault of American Indian Alaska Native women in urban settings. We found that ninety-four percent of the women that we had surveyed had been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. As a direct result of that, we saw things such as high rates of substance misuse, we saw homelessness, and all of the things that happen when somebody has experienced such incredible trauma. But what we saw was a shock across the nation at the data that we presented that is even higher than most of the members read today as they talked about the violence that happens in my community but I will tell you Indian country was not shocked. This is the lived experience of many of us every day, However, you often don't know about it because the data is missing. And I recognize that because I am part of that missing data. I experienced my first rape at the age of six years old. And at the age of ten, when it was reported to the law enforcement at the home of where I was at, in Alaska, law enforcement made the decision to not prosecute as a result of what they said was lack of resources. And I wish my story was unique, but I know it's not. It is one that is experienced across Indian country today, and we, when we buried my rapist the dozens of women who experienced the same thing, who I watch impacted by this crisis as a direct result of the sexual assault that he inflicted on us as young children. Many of them suffered substance misuse. Many of them went missing several times, and several of them were murdered. In two thousand eighteen, I stood alongside Senator Lisa Murkowski and re- re-released the very first data report on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and it was, again, data that shocked the country. But nobody in Indian country was surprised by. We found that the data did not exist on this crisis, and simple things were happening across law enforcement, such as not even having a box to mark American Indian, Alaska Native. So law enforcement wasn't even being given the ability to recognize and put into the data that these people were Native. And as a direct result, you all need this data to make policy driven decisions, but it's more than that. The data upholds the treaty and trust obligation that is owed to American Indian Alaska Native tribes. This is part of what you need in order to hold up this treaty and trust obligations and for us to get the resources that we need. And I wish I could say things were different. As a result of our work and that of numerous tribes and grassroots organizers and families across the country, we passed Savannah's Act and the Not Invisible Act that was signed into law by President Trump in twenty twenty. But we know that not all of those aspects, particularly the data, have actually been carried out. And so what do we do? We do it ourselves. I have been part of training law enforcement across the nation on how to input data within their data systems. We have worked with organizations and companies who are putting out the tech that is being used by law enforcement, and we do it uncompensated. Because both of the reports I just talked about had no federal dollars behind them, we self-funded them as an organization, and in fact, most of them were funded by speaking fees that I charge. We're doing it ourselves, and it is necessary. This data is allowing us to go missing and to do it in a way that makes us invisible, and we need to have accurate data right now with the opportunities that exist, using AI, using machine learning. We need to see that implemented across DOJ because their databases can't even talk to each other. We need to use those resources, however it must be done in collaboration with the tribal communities. There are so many other things that I could touch on and it is within my testimony, but I wanna s- end with this story. I was uh speaking with young women um, and all of these women had been trafficked. They were all under the age of eighteen. They had been kidnapped. They had been taken by their traffickers, inject injected with drugs. And then they had been trafficked and I was sitting with a group of them who had been recovered some of them who will never have children as a result of the physical assaults that they experience I shared with them my story and specifically I shared with them how our traditional ways are what healed me our traditional ways are why I'm standing in front of you today. Our traditional ways are the reason that we can move forward and have change within our communities. I shared with him that the blueberry in Alaska, one that is important to me, it has survived the worst. We get to negative seventy degrees, and we also get to over a hundred degrees. And I shared with him when I go and gather the blueberry, when I stand on our land, I know that I can survive the worst in order to ensure the best. Afterwards, I never know if my words make a difference. I was standing in a conference And a young woman several years later runs up to me and grabs me by the arms, and she's pressing her face against me, tears are running down her face, and she says to me, " Abigail, do you remember me?" She said, " Abigail, I wanna tell you I'm a blueberry too." Our traditional ways and our traditional idea of medicine needs to be incorporated in the way that we serve our survivors of violence. And there are opportunities to do that, not only through CMS, reimbursing it, and our healthcare services, but ensuring that across Across the administration we have access to that, and I would love to share more with you that in the future. And I hope that every single one of you recognizes that my rape was not partisan. And you all now have a responsibility to stand with us. This is in your hands to uphold treaty and trust obligations and to recognize that your voices together will make the change that my community needs. My question to you is, will you stand with us?

Thank you, Miss Agelhawk, for your testimony. The chair now recognizes Doctor Boldhil for five minutes.

Chairman, heard, ranking member and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on this important topic. My name is Grace Boldhil. I'm an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. And I am a citizen of the Crow tribe in Montana. On August twenty four, twenty nineteen, my niece Kaysera stops pretty places, was murdered just days after her eighteenth birthday. I served on the Non-Visible Act Commission as a family member. Like I'm doing here today, family members share their experiences with law enforcement and the justice system at the commission hearings and site visits. For many, those hearings would be the only time that their stories were received and recorded. In a process that we commissioners navigated at best we could, despite to the rushed and compressed timeline. I take this charge seriously in addressing the barriers family members face in seeking justice. These systematic failures and disproportionate challenges were familiar to myself, and fellow commissioners serving as advocates of family members. Too commonly we are leading our own investigations and pressuring the justice system to make what little progress we have. in our loved one's cases. My family spent years begging law enforcement to investigate the homicide of my niece. It is only after our activism and advocacy that we have made any progress. However, that progress has been interrupted by erratic MMIP policy priorities limiting resources available to us. At the hearing in Billings, Montana, the missing and murdered unit, regional agent in charge, testified to the not visible act commission that MMU officers would not be reassigned to other BIA law enforcement duties. That is not the state of affairs now, as the primary MMU agent that we know to be working on Kisara's case had been assigned to other duties, including the BIA chief of police, then eventually resigned from the MMU, and has now returned to the BIA role. For ten months now, we have been asking the MMU to schedule a half hour phone call with their family to discuss their progress on Kisara's case. The response we got was that they do not have time to talk to us. We need the MMU to become functional again, given that the law enforcement in the county meets its family members with outright hostility. The county did not tell us until four years after her death that the Bighorn County still had several of case Sarah's facial bones in their custody. As a county coroner cremated her remains against our wishes. These were the only physical remains that we had to place in her grave, which we then had to reopen to bury alongside her ashes. Many more teenage girls have gone missing in the region, since disappearance, and several were also found deceased. Our traumas revisited in seeing their families met indifference from those charged with investigating their deaths. It is us family members and advocates demanding measurable action in addressing this ongoing genocide of our indigenous girls and women. We are not elected officials. We are not invited to provide or provided a seat at the table in addressing this crisis as is protocol in government to government relations with our tribal communities. Our governments are too indifferent unless it impacts them personally. As a commissioner, I prioritize recommendations that center family members to empower those actually doing the work in our communities. President Trump signed the Not Visible Act into law in his first term. The federal government should uphold its commitment to addressing the crisis. Reinstate the Non-Visible Act Commission report to the Department of Justice site platform, and implement those recommendations. Provide resources to the law enforcement agencies, and specifically the MMU. The erratic and chaotic state of the MMIP policy implementation delays our hard-fought efforts in realizing justice for our relatives. And as we know, many of these cases are solvable. Thank you for the opportunity to provide my testimony.

Thank you, Doctor Blue Tail, for your, Blue Tail, for your testimony. The chair now organizes Doctor Middleman for five minutes.

Uh, Chairman, ranking members, and distinguished members of the committee, I appreciate you allowing me to testify on this very important crisis. Uh, I'm David Middleman. I'm the CEO of Authrum. We develop a forensic DNA technology and uh ai technology to help address this unending backlog of unsolved cases uh we work with local state and federal agencies as well as tribal agencies and even internationally to help take cases of unidentified persons uh people that have been harmed by violence and identify the suspects uh to these violent crimes and restore the identities of those that have not had identities it's um it's been my deepest pleasure to work with uh bia through the operations spirit return program we've been able to have a tremendous success some of which uh mister addington has already highlighted but i wanna say that i take great pleasure in that we're able to deploy this technology to the smallest most rural agencies that don't necessarily have uh the technical or laboratory facilities and also assist the largest agencies uh including the bureau and and federal programs such as namUs The issue at hand is that there are an kind of an um a never-ending uh accumulation of people that have gone unidentified. And if you don't know who these identified people are, it's very hard to then uh figure out who is responsible for their death. How do you investigate the case if you don't even know who the victim is? In fact, in a retrospective study that we did, we found that almost twenty-five percent of the time, just identifying the person almost immediately tells you who is responsible and it's led to the identification and prosecution of those responsible. Furthermore, uh, families continue uh to suffer uh with no answers, and as it was stated early uh in the in the process in the first uh panel, there's there's a kind of a an opportunity for people to prey on populations that don't get uh the resources and the technology to solve these cases. And so as these cases remain unsolved, it provides that opportunity for predators to come in and prey on more people. So it is it is absolutely critical to identify missing persons and unidentified people and then to work these violent crimes uh because uh beyond just that one case, there's a systemic issue that then leaves the rest of the population vulnerable to future crime. It can prevent future victims by addressing this. And the technology here is really simple. Uh, forensics has largely been based on matching to identify someone with DNA or using these AI tools, you pretty much need to know who you're looking for. You need a hypothesis. So these tools are used at the end of an investigation. The technology that we've built, that we're now offering through Operation Spirit Return and through other programs enables us to give investigative leads to law enforcement without any uh without any kind of clues or any kind of existing leads. So cases that have been unsolved for decades, for years, Um, they can now be addressed by generating new leads directly from the evidence. So you don't need a a lucky uh, you know, match in a database. You don't need a a tip that comes in. You can directly work the case. And particularly in a environment in which there's a shortage of labor, you've heard that it's been hard to recruit law enforcement and human resources into this, uh, problem. It's more important than ever to make sure that each person working in these cases can be uh, more productive. And so these tools, again, allow you to take the existing cases, we need to identify more of course, and the reporting is essential, but there are cases right now, thousands of cases, that could be worked tomorrow. Um, the issue is not technology, the issue is not the evidence, every case that Authram has helped solve with uh BIA, the evidence has been there for years, if not longer. The issue is the deployment of these tools, and, and I urge the committee to explore ways that we can more effectively get these tools. into the hands of uh you know the federal partners the state partners and the tribal agencies. These cases are already identified they just need access. And I'll I'll leave it by saying that uh there's been discussion also about the importance of kind of measuring impact or spending money or spending time what's happening. Uh at at our company we we hold ourselves to the metric of how many people have we identified in a fiscal year, how many crimes have resulted in the identification, prosecution of a suspect. And those, those are the obvious metrics to uh uphold, uh, you know, how much money are you spending on an initiative, and how many names are being restored, and how many suspects are being identified. And I think this technology is the, you know, one of the fastest and most effective ways, particularly in a labor constrained environment, to bring that kind of value to the community. I appreciate the time.

Thank you, Doctor, I'm really looking forward to your testimony. I mean, I'll recognize the members on the dais for their questions. I'll go to the met member from Wisconsin, Mister Tom Tiffany.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. Um, Doctor Bulltail, uh, welcome to the uh, committee here. Um, I represent uh a number of the northern tribes in the seventh congressional district in Wisconsin. Have you researched the situation in Lac du Flambeau in regards to a young woman, Melissa Beeson?

Thank you for the question. I'm not familiar with that particular case, but I imagine that it's familiar to many of the cases that we've heard from family members.

Yeah, I, and I think you're correct about that. Um, this just happened in twenty twenty five where she went missing, they still have not found her. And um, reading an article here from Wisconsin Public Radio, Um, it says the Lacta-Flambeau Reservation has had three other missing persons in the last four years, um, that I did not realize had happened. And I know there was a very prominent case back in the early nineteen nineties of a woman who was I believe she's her remains still have not been have not been found. And, uh, so we certainly see it what is right in our backyard, um, in northern Wisconsin. Uh, Miss Echo Hawk Um, why do you think this is happening?

We have an ongoing legacy of both the um, over-sexualization of Native women specifically, where we were um, some of the initial, if we go all the way back to Christopher Columbus, his original journey, or his journals actually talk about the trafficking and rape of Indigenous women. We have the stories of um, Pocahontas, a Pamunkey tribal member who died overseas uh, as a trafficked And then, and from what my perspective, a murdered Indigenous woman. And so we have an ongoing legacy of working towards and understanding that Indigenous women, um, we should not be subjected to not only this over-sexualization, but also what does it look like to ensure that predators do not come after us. I have worked with communities across the country, and like I talked about with my rapist, who moved across reservations, moved across, um, village areas, because they know that they can operate with impunity. I was working with one community and he did what we call it rez hopping. He jumped from one reservation to the other. They were unable to prosecute him as a direct result of the jurisdictional issues. By the time he hit the fifth reservation, he killed her. And so the the cross jurisdictional issues address the um our and our directly impacting whether or not these perpetrators who have identified this opportunity to operate with impunity,

Do you think this is tied at all, the cartel activity? I know over the previous few years we heard that some of the tribes, including one in particular, I heard in Montana that there was a tremendous amount

Mm.

cartel activity going on. Is that sometimes tied to this?

Absolutely. Um, in Washington State we had a young person who had gone missing. And we do have what was the very first alert system, the Red Alert system. I was blessed to co-author in Washington State. Um, we issued that alert. We were actually able to find this young person who by that time was in a vehicle in California, and was being trafficked by the cartels and being part, um, from our understanding in moving drugs across the border. And so we do know that there is an impact of the cartels, and we do know that they also target reservations, again as a direct result of the cross-jurisdictional issues that have to be addressed through a legislative fix.

Uh, same question, Doctor Middleman. Um, i- is cartel activity tied to this?

Uh, I'm probably not the most, uh, kind of educated on whether cartel activity specifically would would contribute to this. But I would say, you know, when you have a population that lacks the infrastructure, um, and a community that lacks the infrastructure to systematically resolve these cases, you, you leave yourself open to predatory actions. And if there's anyone that's ever been a good predator, it's cartels.

Yeah. Um, I will just close with this, Mister Chairman. So, first of all, thanks to all of you who have come before us today that you would share your stories. And, uh, um, I think this is, um, a piece of a broader picture here in our country, um, where Just recently, over the last couple of years, we had three hundred and fifty thousand minors that have come into our country that, they have no idea where they're at, that came from other countries. And um, we need to make sure that we identify everyone possible, including the indigenous indigenous women who have been trafficked or um, have been harmed in some way. So, once again, thank you so much for coming and I yield back, Mister Chairman.

Thank you, gentlemen. Uh, the gentleman from uh, Idaho, uh, this is Dr. Simpson, his recognizer.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank all of you for being here for your testimony and stuff. I almost feel like I need to apologize that you need to be here. This ought to be something that we're working on, that we're all united on in trying to solve this this problem, and I and I almost feel like I'm I'm kind of embarrassed that you feel like you have to come and and tell us what the problem is. We should know this. Uh. But thank you all for being here. Abigail, you're always compelling to listen to. I enjoy it very much. Uh, well, I don't enjoy the subject very much. But, uh, the one question I did wanna ask Mister Siemens. I think you were teasing me at the end of your of your statement when you said "I have an answer to the jurisdictional problem."

And actually we do. uh, submitted in our written testimony.

You can turn on your mike, please. Thank you.

It's actually submitted in our written testimony, a link, and in an actual fix to the jurisdictional issue. Like I told you before, in Indian country it, you know, even two eighty states, but um in our our reservation, if you have a highway going down the road, and one side is trust land and one side is deeded land, the person going on this side, if he's an uh non-Indian and the tribal police stop him, they can't cite him or or arrest him for anything. Vice versa, on the other side, if it's a a native coming down uh the the uh highway uh on the trust land, they can but the state can't. I mean, and it's just so complex that even knowing what the the plot of the land is on the road on which side, whether or not you have jurisdiction. Uh, and it really creates a a major problem, especially in these investigations. And I I can tell you that the tribal law enforcement are probably some of the the most professional and and dedicated uh law enforcement people there are. And I think given the proper authority under this jurisdiction, I think it would be one step towards helping in this type of situation.

If I can add quickly to that, um I worked with a family who came to me,

Sure.

they had a loved one who was murdered and it hadn't been investigated, and this was in a large city. And so we reach out, we find out that this woman had been beaten, murdered and left under a bus stop. However, the bus stop itself was the jurisdiction of the county where the sidewalk in which she was found was the jurisdiction of the city. And there was no um nobody took the case up. And so as a direct result of the um the victim services resources we have at my organization, we were able to advocate and it was but then five months later we were able to get an investigator assigned. They still have not solved that murder. But these jurisdictional issues are also have to have the support of victim services, and to ensure that there are advocates, that when these things happen that people have the support, mental health support, physical support, and also just us standing with them, if we had not pushed, there would not have been an investigator assigned. And still to this day, we're continuing to push because that family deserves justice.

Well, thank you for that, as I was trying to say in my testimony originally, this is unusual and confusing and I I I don't understand why it's that way. And we've gotta change that somehow. It is uh Something we need to work on together. So I plan on doing that, but uh, it's beyond the committee that I said on, the Appropriations Committee that I chair, the Interior Committee. It's probably in gets into the Judiciary Committee and into this committee and stuff, but it is something that we need to address. Uh, and as I told you beforehand, I think it comes from, you know, twenty, forty, fifty years ago when we didn't trust tribal police and stuff, and they weren't as sophisticated as they are today. And I will tell you, all the tribal police officers that I've met today, They go through the same training as our state police officers do, our local police officers, and they're every bit as competent and do just as good a job. And that's why, uh, uh, mister, uh, Newhouse's, uh, legislation to make sure that they have the benefits, that they can stay in their communities and stuff instead of being hired by the local, uh, the the nearest, uh, city or county police officers once they get trained. And same thing is true with firefighters and and other, uh, people. So, uh, that's something we need to work on, but I look forward to working with you to try to solve some of these problems, and, uh, it's a subject that we've got to address. So, I appreciate you all being here today, and thank you very much for what you do.

Thank you very much, um, uh, Mister Simpson, who yields his time. At this time the chair will recognize himself for five minutes. Doctor Middleman, at the end of your, near the end of your testimony, you said something that caught my eye. You said the principal challenge is no longer scientific capability, the principal challenge is deployment. What is preventing this technology from being deployed more broadly broadly? Is it awareness? Is it cost, procurement, training, legal issues? What is it?

Uh, I appreciate the question. I think, I think there's a number of things, uh, if I was just to rank them, uh, not in a particular order but by recent CM which I've heard the feedback. I think perhaps the biggest issue is that I, I'm not clear that tribes truly understand the resources that are now available. Uh, as it was uh mentioned, this program began in twenty twenty five, and most of the tribal agencies are not aware that we have tools, such as uh the DNA technology we offer to work these cases. That's one big issue. The other issue is um is you know uh beyond uh the jurisdictional uh items that uh uh Congressman um Simpson had mentioned. You know, even even when you get into starting working some of these cases, you know, they'll find someone that has died. they're not necessarily easily identifiable or describable. And an anthropologist has to come in and say, I I think this person may be from this community or not from this community. All that's uncertain as well. So there's so many rules and uh and and kind of debates and discussions uh that really block the ability to then surface the case further. People don't know the technology is available. And um and and the last thing I'll say is that, you know, I I've offered myself, I I will I will come anywhere to any community myself and I will go sit down. We have AI tools that can go through cases, identify them. I just wanna say that there's a huge problem in surfacing cases, but right now there's all, everyone here already knows of hundreds to thousands of cases that are surfaced. They're ready to go and they're sitting on a desk, and we can work through those right now. And you guys could measure us on our ability to just resolve the case.

Thank you, Doctor Middleman. Um, Mister Siemens, very thoughtful testimony. Uh, you One of my takeaways that I got from it was you repeatedly emphasized systems, and you make a point that technology alone is not enough. Looking across the cases that you've seen, where do you where where do the investigations most commonly fail? Is it in the first forty eight hours? Is it jurisdiction? Is it um prosecutorial discretion? Is it communications? What is it?

Uh the on the cold cases, the first thing that happens, it you're right, the first forty eight hours. And what we saw in what we we concentrated on when when we did our training was the initial responders. What exactly they should be doing, the evidence, the witnesses that they should be gathering. And and and the keeping of that evidence for future um um uh forensic uh studies. But one of the other things, I mean everybody gets that in the academy, whether it's a BIA academy, a state academy, but one of the things that we've seen over and over is the initial response does not do a complete thorough investigation at the beginning of of the crisis.

What what is it in those first forty-eight hours? Is it primarily evidence collection or is there other things that are happening in that first forty-eight hours that are critical?

Well, the the the reason it's really important is within that forty eight hours is is you're able to identify the individuals and the evidence before they all disappear. Uh, after that things, you know, whether it's gonna be the weather, whether it's gonna be people, you know, leaving, uh, whether it's people there with, you know, a a a cell phone that took something, it all starts disappearing. And so it's very important to concentrate within that first forty eight hours, or actually within the first five hours, of ensuring that everything is covered, uh, including identifying witnesses and identifying individuals that just may have been taking a cell picture.

K. Great, thank you, uh, Mister Siemens, appreciate that. Uh, Miss Echo Hawk, question for you. Eh, how could, can you talk a little bit about how innovative technologies, AI, k, could, how could they be used to enhance existing databases to provide a better picture of the MNIP crisis.

Right now across the nation there is no specific way that they are gathering American Indian, Alaska, native data. If we just look at the Department of Justice, the nameless does not talk to the other databases within the Department of Justice. And so what we need is to use innovative technology to go into that, to gather up all of the information, find the commonalities, and look for the opportunities to understand where exe for example, a serial killer might be operating. or where individuals might be being trafficked more. And right now that needs to be done in collaboration with the tribal nations to ensure that whatever data is used, whatever technology is used, is done with meaningful tribal consultation to ensure that respects Indigenous data sovereignty. But it is possible. We acknowledge that it is possible, it just takes the will to get it done.

Thank you, uh, Miss Hekawaka. I appreciate that. And my time has ens expired. At this time I'd like to recognize the gentleman from the state of Arizona, Miss Grijalva.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, thank you all for being here today. And and um, Doctor Boulthel, thank you for sharing your family's story. Your testimony is a powerful reminder that behind every case is a family seeking justice. And today's throughout today's hearing we've heard about the federal government's commitment to addressing MMP crisis. But your testimony reflects the reality that many families are facing, a reality which is far too often families are left to conduct their own investigations, and are left to push for action by the justice system. Could you elaborate further on the lack of resources available for families, what resources are urgently needed, and why sustained federal support is critical, particularly in cases where the agencies decline or fail to investigate or prosecute?

Thank you for the question. So as, as I had mentioned, family members are are really pushing for a lot of the, a lot of the changes, uh measurable action, uh but we're not invited to seat at the table. I haven't heard much mention of how family members are involved in a lot of the, lot of the proposed procedures that we have heard. I, I feel like this process is, is very chaotic and experimental, where there are constants that are systematic failures and lack of, lack of action from law enforcement. And the outcome is gonna be the same because of that. So we do need consistent, consistent contact from law enforcement. Uh, we need to know that that our cases are a priority, that the resources aren't going to be dedicated elsewhere.

Thank you. Um, Miss Echohawk, your testimony referenced a survey the institute conducted in which sixty-three point eight percent of responding organizations reported being substantially impacted by federal funding cuts including delayed grant disbursements and the elimination of long-standing funding opportunities. And last year we saw the Department of Justice cancelling hundreds of grants, supporting safety and justice. Um, could you speak to how funding disruptions affect those on the ground, working on addressing the MMI P crisis and the real work consequences for victims, survivors, families, tribal communities, when funding is decreased or delayed?

Yeah, thank you for that question. Um, our report that was released this morning, Sacred Responsibility, Protecting Our People, details the two hundred and one organizations that we did that survey with. And for folks it's created incredible um uncertainty. And in fact for those who had grants eliminated and then they were reinstated, they didn't even rehire because they're so afraid their grants are gonna go away anyways.

Right.

And so they're really working towards what does it look like to have sustained funding that is respectful of the fact that we have a treaty right to these resources in order to serve our victims of violence. One of the things that report also found is that forty-three percent of the folks who we surveyed we're having a very difficult time retrain um retaining law enforcement officers. Those officers are so good, as what was told.

Wow.

They're phenomenal. And because we don't have the appropriate resources that could be addressed in the Tribal Law Enforcement Parity Act, in addition to the Badges Act, if we had those kinds of resources, we have more ability in order to hold on to those incredible officers that we need within our community. This is detailed within our report and from the on the ground folks, which includes myself and my organization. Um, not too long ago I had a rape victim who was eighty years old. My staff called me up. She was in a wheelchair. She had been raped and her perpetrator was in my building.

Wow.

It took an hour and fifteen minutes for law enforcement to arrive. Wow. But by that time, my team and I, we had didn't have the resources. She wanted to change her clothes. Um, I went in to go search through our through our clothes that we have available, to change her clothes out of the clothes she had been raped in. And all I could find was a fi a pair of five X wet pants. And I remember with my staff taking the string and pulling it as tight as I could, to help slide them over her legs, just so she would have clean clothes. That is what direct services providers like myself are doing right now. We're taking five X wet pants and sliding them up an extra small person, trying to make things work with the little bit of resources that we have. She deserved better, and Indian country deserves better.

Has your report been submitted to the record?

No, we have not, but I can do that.

Can I do that?

Absolutely.

I'd like to request that that be submitted to the record.

Without objection.

Alright, thank you. Um, and I yield back.

The gentleman yields. At this time, the chair recognizes the Chairman of the Oversight Investigation Subcommittee uh, Doctor Gosar from Arizona. Doctor Gosar.

Doctor Middleman, under President Trump's Operation Spirit Return, your company, Othram, has harnessed AI and DNA sequencing to identify remains and provide families with closure about their missing loved ones. My question is, while processing DNA samples found at crime scenes or from remains, how does Authrum protect the privacy of victims and the DNA data?

Thank you for the question, and we we have been honored to participate in Operation Spirit Return, and receive the support of the administration to work these cases, cuz it truly does lead to the resolution of the case. As it pertains to DNA data, um, we work only for law enforcement. Um. or for investigative uh organizations within the government. And every case that we handle is handled uh very carefully according to a standard set forth through a forensic accreditation. And the case then belongs to the agency that brings it to us. So we will be retained in the short term to assist in investigation, to produce an investigative lead, and that is returned as property back to the investigating agency, and we move on to the next case.

Okay, well now, in in addition to identifying the victim. What other factors can your technology distinguish from a DNA sample?

We can uh, we can assist in a couple different areas. One one issue I brought up earlier is, for example, NamUs has had uh prioritized funding to help uh Native American um cases. So cases involving unidentified Native Americans. But but even knowing that someone is Native American um by whatever metric that they've set, is is an uncertainty. So the DNA testing we can do, for example, can properly categorize um whether people are from a background that that is consistent with the case you're trying to investigate. And as much as that sounds like a very uh obvious thing, it's it's been a real challenge. Um there are a lot of people miscategorized in NamUs um across a number of ancestral uh origins. So that's one piece of data that we can collect to assist with. The second thing that we do is we can find uh nearest relatives, so we can find distant relatives to unidentified people, uh, whether they're unidentified remains or they're suspects to a crime. And so we have that information to find the next of kin that we can then use to then figure out who someone is or who the perpetrator in a crime is. And we've also used it to exonerate people. Those are the two pieces of general information we retain, which is the, uh, genetic relationships and the ancestral background of the person.

Now, last year there was a horrific, uh, uh, event uh that was portrayed in in the newspapers, where there's uh at least a thousand children's shoes and women's shoes that were found and they were in a mass grave. Were you ever invited by the state of Mex or the country of Mexico to help actually help them with those Indigenous people there?

We we we've not been contacted, but that's exactly the kind of work that we would really enjoy helping out at, because these kind of problems where you have uh mass graves, large casualty events, There's literally no context. Everything's been thrown into one pile. Um, we've solved similar problems. We help uh the Marines and we've helped AFDIL uh develop technology to identify unidentified servicemen. These same tools can be used to help address these issues where uh people have uh only, you know, perhaps the shoes of children or some other small piece of evidence where it doesn't matter how many investigators you hire or put onto the case, there are no leads. And so your only recourse is to use the DNA to figure out whose shoes those whose shoes those were or or who had handled those items, and and might be involved in the crime.

I just

No, Miss Echo Hawk. The Urban Indian Health Institute has met with my office about the twenty twenty three tribe Phoenix tribal rehab scandal where all the victims recovered from these facilities, or are there still some missing victims?

Um, I cannot speak to that, I am unsure of um of that fact um specifically. But we do know that when folks um are recovered,

Mm-hmm.

it is essential for them to have the services that they need, which includes our traditional Indian medicine. Um, and I know when I say that people are like, what does that actually mean? Well, that is defined by the tribes themselves. And when we give folks those kinds of resources, folks who have been missing and then are recovered, then have the opportunity to move forward with healing. Otherwise, you are going to sit here and to continue to address the crisis of opiates, the crisis of suicidality, and all of the things associated with that, if we don't have the appropriate practices, to ensure that these victims get the resources that they need. And I hope in this instance that all of those folks are recovered and they do get those resources.

Would you be an an advocate? Uh, you're tenacious in what you do, what you undertake. And it seems to me like we'd love to have that answer, if you could be able to find that out. We appreciate it.

Absolutely.

I'm gonna leave each one with a question, and it's more of a a statement. I learn a lot more from you than I do from myself,

Mm.

and many so many times by staff. Can you outline future question, it's it's coming to you, you can write it down, uh you don't have to give me the answer now. A protocol on how you would see and envision this so uh solving this problem. Would that make sense to you?

Yeah, absolutely. An act the not invisible um act report, there are a lot of solutions within that. And while I do acknowledge it has been removed from the website, it has been actualized, not all of it, but we do know across the administration there have been points in that report that have been actualized, but there is a path forward, like Doctor Boulthill said, that is directed by the families. And in Washington State we also have a group of families who direct all of our work, and that needs to be done. There is also protocols in regards to the data work that I do within my organization, that we have published. And again, I have trained law enforcement across the nation, including one large database system that is used by more than twenty-five percent of all prosecutors now has the simple boxes for American Indians and Alaska Natives. The protocols are there. Indian country has created them. We just need to see them put into action.

See, I I'm gonna take a little liberty here in a second, because we had an educational uh collaboration with the tribes. And we never knew, I didn't know that there were certain uh uh grants or certain uh uh monies available that they didn't want, you guys didn't want, because they they didn't work for them. And they identified the right ones and that made a streamlined process. So, Giving and and and giving you more options. So I think if you could do that as well, we'd appreciate it. Thank you. I yield back.

Thank you, Doctor Gosar. At this time, the chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington State, Miss Randall for five minutes. Miss Randall.

Thank you, Mister Chair, I wanna take a moment to acknowledge the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two spirits, all people and say that you have champions here in Washington DC And we are honored to walk alongside you in this journey to justice. And according to my Washington State Patrol, there are currently over a hundred active cases for missing and murdered Indigenous people in our state alone. And during my time serving in the state legislature, we did make a lot of progress. We created the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and People Task Force, with the support and expertise of so many families, and Native-led organizations, including the Seattle Urban Indian Health Board. The task force co-authored state legislation that created the country's first missing Indigenous person alert, referred to as the Red Alert. The Red Alert works similarly to the Amber Alert and has seen incredible success. So far, eighty percent of the people in the system are found. The task force also created the MMIWP Missing Persons Toolkit, launched in May, twenty twenty five, answering the call from community for tools that are trauma informed, cult culturally grounded and responsive to the lived realities of Indigenous communities across the state. In addition to efforts by states and tribes at the local level though, we need more federal action. And instead, as we have heard today, this administration the Trump administration has cut programs, delayed grant dollars, eliminated grants, and caused the loss of program officers through Doge and other efforts. Federal agencies serving public safety and victims, services and tribal nations have to provide the full funding for the programs needed in order to uphold trust and treaty obligations. It is our responsibility as a federal government. In the case of in case Anyone is confused on either side of the aisle, this isn't DEI. These programs are the fulfillment of treaty and trust obligations for public safety on tribal lands and are owed to Native people and I'm grateful that it feels like in this committee we have real bipartisan understanding and support. The federal government's trust responsibility is to help protect the safety and well-being of Native communities. And this responsibility was prepaid by tribes through treaties signed with the federal government. Um, Miss, thank you so much for making the trip to the other side of the country and for your testimony. You mentioned the importance in the continuum of care for individuals once they've come home. And, you know, your story of first-hand account and service, it reminds all of us that those wrap-around services are essential to making someone healthier and whole once they come home. But the reimbursement for traditional Indian medicine through CMS is limited, which is disappointing, especially for survivors of violence. Because incorporating traditional medicine services, as we know, improves outcomes. Can you explain to the committee more about the benefits of traditional Indian medicine, and why it deserves proper reimbursement through CMS?

Yes, and um, I appreciate you acknowledging the work of the task force from Washington State, which I'm blessed to co-chair. alongside um three other incredible tribal leaders. Uh when we talk about traditional Indian medicine, what that looks like is uh it looks like using our traditional ways, whether the story of the blueberry I told you, what does that mean, what teachings are associated with that? That's counseling. That's um looking at Western medicine. That's use of equine therapy, all things that are recognized within Western science. They could have asked an Indian, we would have told you all it worked a long time ago. Um but we know that it works. And at the Seattle Indian Health Board, we don't leave things to chance, we just don't say it works, we have the data to prove it. So we have incorporated traditional Indian medicine into our electronic medical records and I can tell you for our relatives who access traditional Indian medicine who are experiencing suicidality and I say that as a young person who attempted suicide for the very first time at the age of nine as a result of having no resources and the ongoing rapes that I was experiencing. And I know that many of our relatives experience that and we work with them every day. suicidality and access our services traditionally in medicine, we have seen a seventy-one percent decrease in suicidality. As a suicide reacher researcher who's worked across the nation for many years, I've never seen that in my experience. It only happens with the incorporation of traditional Indian medicine, and we have established a credentialing process, we know how to gather the data, and we know now that CMS is willing to reimburse it, and we also know that Secretary Kennedy during a hearing did say that he would be willing to look at an administrative fix, even though we do have, and I urge you to also look at the Urban Indian Parity Act as an opportunity to ensure that we can get the reimbursements we need in order to ensure that folks get access to to traditional Indian medicine. This is the lives of our people. It literally brings life.

Thank you so much, Ms. Echo Haag. Thanks for being here. And I uh yield back, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. At this time I want to thank each of our witnesses for their valuable testimony and also for my colleagues on this dais for their questions. Members of the subcommittees may have some additional questions for the witnesses of both panels, and we will ask the witnesses to respond to those in writing. Under House Natural Resources Committee Rule three, members must submit those questions to the Subcommittee on Indian and Solar Affairs clerk, or the Oversight and Investigations clerk, by five PM on Friday, July seventeenth, twenty twenty six. The hearing record will be held open for ten business days for these responses. If there is no further business, without objection, the subcommittee stand adjourned.