The Justice Department has announced a significant deployment of FBI resources to address unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country, including issues relating to missing and murdered Indigenous persons. This initiative involves the largest national deployment of FBI resources to date for Indian Country crime.
Sixty FBI personnel will be deployed in rotations, each serving 90-day temporary assignments over six months. The personnel will support field offices in several U.S. cities, including Albuquerque, Denver, Detroit, and more. The operation will involve collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit will assist FBI personnel and employ advanced forensic tools to solve cases and hold perpetrators responsible. U.S. Attorney's Offices will rigorously prosecute referred cases.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated, “Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high. By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with U.S. Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve.”
FBI Director Kash Patel added, “The FBI will manhunt violent criminals on all lands – and Operation Not Forgotten ensures a surge in resources to locate violent offenders on tribal lands and find those who have gone missing.”
Indian Country continues to struggle with high crime rates and victimization levels. At the start of FY 2025, the FBI's Indian Country program had about 4,300 ongoing investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 cases of domestic violence and adult sexual abuse.
Operation Not Forgotten renews efforts initiated during President Trump's tenure under E.O. 13898, focusing on missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. This marks the third deployment under the operation, providing investigative support to over 500 cases lately, yielding recoveries, arrests, and judicial actions.
The operation expands on recent years' resources to tackle cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people, with support from the Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which has placed attorneys and coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide.