Oregon missing, murdered indigenous persons coordinator appointed
EUGENE, Ore. (KTVZ) —U .S. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced Friday the appointment of Cedar Wilkie Gillette to serve as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinator for the District of Oregon.
As the District of Oregon’s first MMIP coordinator, Ms. Gillette will gather reliable data to identify MMIP cases connected to Oregon; conduct outreach with tribal communities to assist in the creation and implementation of community action plans; coordinate with tribal, local, state, and federal law enforcement in the development of protocols and procedures for responding to and addressing MMIP cases; and promote improved data collection and analyses throughout Oregon.
Working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Eugene, Ms. Gillette will serve tribal communities and victims throughout Oregon.
“We are very excited to welcome Ms. Gillette into this important new position designed to serve native crime victims and their families. For generations, American Indians and Alaskan Natives have suffered from disproportionately high levels of violence. This is unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Ms. Gillette is eminently qualified for this role and will join a long history of District of Oregon staff committed to reducing violent crime in tribal communities.”
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. 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. 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.
On November 22, 2019, Attorney General William Barr launched a national strategy to address missing and murdered Native Americans. When establishing the MMIP Initiative, the Department of Justice made an initial investment of $1.5 million to hire MMIP coordinators to serve with U.S. Attorney’s Offices in 11 states, including Oregon.
The strategy also calls for the deployment of the FBI’s most advanced response capabilities when needed, improved data collection and analysis, and training to support local response efforts.
