Tribal Chair Discusses Missing & Murdered Unit and Law Enforcement Needs

MMIP Unit Support and Tribal Efforts

• 💡 Senator Hoeven inquired about the effectiveness of the Department of Interior's Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU) in supporting the Spirit Lake Nation.
• 📌 Spirit Lake Tribal Council Chairwoman Lonna Jackson-Street affirmed their strong advocacy for MMIP (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons) efforts and her role on the state MMIP task force.
• 🎯 She highlighted the passage of Savannah's Act in North Dakota, which provided a framework for developing their own incident task force to address missing persons cases.
• ⚠️ The goal is always rescue, not recovery, but a lack of law enforcement resources can hinder timely responses.

Tragic Case and Resource Gaps

• 💔 A recent case involved a 21-year-old woman who drowned due to a delayed response, underscoring the critical need for more law enforcement.
• 🔍 It took six days for her remains to be recovered, despite support from outside agencies and the tribe's incident command team.

Law Enforcement Training and Capacity Building

• 🎓 Senator Hoeven emphasized the importance of the advanced training center at Camp Grafton for BIA law enforcement officers in the upper Midwest, addressing vacant positions.
• 🚀 Chairwoman Jackson-Street stressed that increased law enforcement capacity is critical for Indian country to handle cases like Tiny White's, where quicker responses could save lives.
• 🏘️ She requested support for increasing funding and supporting the Camp Grafton base for both advanced and entry-level police officer training.
• 🤝 Spirit Lake Nation has the capability to provide a workforce if training centers are available in North Dakota, leveraging tribal colleges and existing resources at Camp Grafton.
• 💰 The tribe has established partnerships with local resources and needs funding to implement their policing plans for tribal nations.