Washington State has some of the highest numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the U.S. On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program.
This will permanently designate five Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to help resolve cases, said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell in a news release on Wednesday. That includes Washington and Oregon.
The announcement comes as a special commission works to develop recommendations for addressing the crisis.
“I’m thankful the Administration is heeding the call to provide additional resources to fight the scourge of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Washington state,” said Sen. Cantwell. “These additional resources will boost tribal law enforcement efforts to prevent and respond to these troubling cases and improve public safety in Native communities. The decision to place additional Justice Department personnel in Eastern Washington dedicated to addressing this crisis is welcome news in our fight to protect and seek justice in tribal communities.”