U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kotek, Biden recognize National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon joins its partners across the federal government, as well as people throughout American Indian and Alaska Native communities, in recognizing Sunday, May 5, as National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day.
The office also announced Friday the appointment of an MMIP Regional Coordinator based in the District of Oregon. Cedar Wilkie Gillette, who since June 2020 has served as the District of Oregon MMIP Coordinator, will now serve as regional coordinator for the Northwest Region under the Justice Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program. The Northwest Region includes the states of California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
Ms. Wilkie Gillette will work alongside Ms. Bree R. Black Horse who was appointed in February 2024 in the Eastern District of Washington to serve as the MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northwest Region.
“We are delighted that Cedar Wilkie Gillette will serve as Northwest regional coordinator for the Justice Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program. This program is a critical next step in the department’s ongoing effort to address this crisis, which has affected tribes and communities across our region and country. Cedar is abundantly qualified for this position and we are eager for her to expand the great work she has done here in Oregon throughout the Northwest Region,” said Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
“There is still so much more to do in the face of persistently high levels of violence that Tribal communities have endured for generations, and that women and girls, particularly, have endured,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “In carrying out our work, we seek to honor those who are still missing, those who were stolen from their communities, and their loved ones who are left with unimaginable pain. Tribal communities deserve safety, and they deserve justice. This day challenges all of us at the Justice Department to double down on our efforts, and to be true partners with Tribal communities as we seek to end this crisis.”
Launched in July 2023, the MMIP Regional Outreach Program permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered indigenous people. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues.
The regional outreach program program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to U.S. Attorney’s Offices promoting public safety in Indian Country and fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People, and the department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons issued in July 2022.
The Department’s work to respond to the MMIP crisis is a whole-of-department effort. In March, the Departments of Justice and the Interior released their joint response to the Not Invisible Act Commission’s recommendations on how to combat the missing or murdered indigenous peoples and human trafficking crisis.
Over the past year, the Department awarded $268 million in grants to help enhance Tribal justice systems and strengthen law enforcement responses. These awards have also gone toward improving the handling of child abuse cases, combating domestic and sexual violence, supporting Tribal youth programs, and strengthening victim services in Tribal communities.
For additional information about the Department of Justice’s efforts to address the MMIP crisis, please visit the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons section of the Tribal Safety and Justice website. Click here for more information about reporting or identifying missing persons.
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 representatives 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.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2020, Ms. Wilkie Gillette served as a law fellow for Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization. She has a juris doctorate from the Vermont Law School and a bachelor’s degree in applied social justice and human rights activism from the University of Minnesota. Ms. Wilkie Gillette is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation and a direct descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She has conducted extensive research on indigenous human rights and environmental justice issues.
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Governor Kotek Declares May 5 as Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day
Salem, OR — Today, Governor Tina Kotek issued a proclamation declaring May 5, 2024, as Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day.
“For far too long, the unsolved deaths and disappearances of Indigenous persons, especially women, have not seen justice,” Governor Kotek said. “On Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, we recommit ourselves to addressing the root causes and systemic obstacles contributing to this crisis.”
The full text of the proclamation can be found here.
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A Presidential Proclamation on Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, 2024
For decades, Native communities across this continent have been devastated by an epidemic of disappearances and killings, too often without resolution, justice, or accountability. On Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, we honor the individuals missing and the lives lost, and we recommit to working with Tribal Nations to end the violence and inequities that drive this crisis, delivering safety and healing.
Across Indian Country, justice for the missing has been elusive for too long. Too many Native families know the pain of a loved one being declared missing or murdered, and women, girls, and LGBTQI+ and Two-Spirit individuals are bearing the brunt of this violence. In the depths of their grief, the work of investigating these disappearances, demanding justice, and fighting for the hopeful return of their loved ones has fallen on the shoulders of families. Legions of brave activists have sought to change that. We need to provide greater resources and ensure the accountability that every community deserves.
During my first year in office, I signed an Executive Order directing Federal agencies to join Tribal Nations in responding to this crisis with new urgency. Since then, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior have worked together to accelerate investigations and bring families closure in ways that respect their cultures and the trauma they have endured. The Department of the Interior created a unit dedicated to this work, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has hired personnel to focus on these cases and ensure that victims’ families are heard throughout this process.
Further, as a result of an effort spearheaded by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland when she was in the Congress, Federal agencies are responding to and implementing the recommendations of the Not Invisible Act Commission — a commission composed of loved ones of missing or murdered individuals, law enforcement, Tribal leaders, Federal partners, service providers, and survivors of gender-based violence — to combat this epidemic.
We will continue working with the governments of Canada and Mexico through the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls to make sure our efforts are coordinated and incorporate Tribal input.
At the same time, we are supporting efforts within the community to crack down on gender-based violence in Indian Country. We reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2022, which included historic provisions to strengthen Tribal sovereignty and safety, expanding Tribal jurisdiction to include prosecution of non-Native perpetrators of stalking, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and child abuse for crimes committed on Tribal lands.
Further, my Administration invested in training for law enforcement and Federal court officers to ensure they respond to cases of gender-based violence through a trauma-informed and culturally responsive approach. My new Budget designates $800 million for the Department of Justice to support VAWA programs, including a new grant program that will work to address the missing or murdered Indigenous persons crisis.
The United States has made a solemn promise to fulfill its trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations and to help rebuild Tribal economies and institutions. Ending this devastating epidemic is an important piece of that work. Today, we mourn with the families who have lost a piece of their soul to this crisis, and we honor the Indigenous activists and advocates who have summoned the courage to shine light on the tragedy. Their actions have already saved countless lives. Together, we will resolve these unanswered questions and build a future for everyone based on safety, security, and self-determination.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2024, as Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. I call on all Americans and ask all levels of government to support Tribal governments and Tribal communities’ efforts to increase awareness and address the issues of missing or murdered Indigenous persons through appropriate programs and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
