Warm Springs 1st Oregon tribe to adopt Missing, Murdered Indigenous Persons Community Response Plan

Provides guide for how Tribal law enforcement, community members respond to missing persons

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — In a first for the federal District of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council has unanimously adopted a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Tribal Community Response Plan, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland said Friday. 

“When someone goes missing from a Tribal community, it is an urgent and time-sensitive situation. A community response plan ensures that all available resources—government, law enforcement, and community members—are quickly deployed in support of a full and thorough investigation,” said Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “We thank the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs for their leadership in addressing this important issue.”

A TCRP is a guide for how Tribal law enforcement and community members will respond when someone goes missing from a Tribal community. TCRPs are tailored to the needs, resources, and culture of individual Tribal communities.

The Warm Springs TCRP was created in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon as part of the U.S. Department of Justice national MMIP initiative. The District of Oregon is one of six pilot program districts working to develop community response plans in accordance with this initiative.

The Warm Springs TCRP establishes four different sets of guidelines relevant to MMIP: law enforcement, victim services, public and media communications, and community outreach.

The overall goal of the TCRP is to recognize the critical need for an immediate and consistent response to missing persons reports from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, establish a formal process for responding to and investigating these reports, and outline the actions that will be taken by Tribal authorities.

In early 2022, the District of Oregon established an MMIP Working Group to increase multi-agency communication and collaboration in support of and response to Oregon-connected MMIP cases. The working group includes at least one representative from each of the nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon, the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of Interior Regional Solicitor’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, and Oregon State Police.

If you have questions about the U.S. Attorney’s Office MMIP program, please email USAOR.PublicAffairs@usdoj.gov or call (503) 727-1000.