White House Announces Public Safety Initiatives Ahead Of Tribal Nations Summit

The Biden administration plans to make new commitments to tribal leaders during the two-day Tribal Nations Summit in Washington, D.C on Wednesday, November 30, and Thursday, December 1.

The White House released a number of planned actions on Wednesday to improve work with tribal governments, including a series of initiatives to improve public safety.

Multiple proposed improvements to public safety revolve around addressing the ongoing crisis of murdered or missing indigenous people.

The FBI and the Bureau Of Indian Affairs will sign a new memorandum to improve law enforcement coordination and will be taking on new personnel including a criminal investigator dedicated to addressing missing or murdered Indigenous people.

The Department of Justice plans to host a 2023 Environmental Justice Convening, where they will take recommendations from tribal leaders and create strategies to address environmental crimes, pollution, and climate change in Indian country.

As part of Biden’s Executive Order on Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice issues in Indian country, the Department of Justice will announce its first National Native American Outreach Services Liaison.

Updated operational plans for a 2022 initiative led by U.S attorneys and law enforcement to address disproportionately high rates of violence is also on the agenda. The plans, created with tribal communities, are supposed to address coordination, victim support and other public safety concerns related to missing or murdered indigenous people.

There will also be an expanded effort to tackle the epidemic of missing or murdered indigenous people by bolstering the capabilities of the National Human Trafficking Hotline, including assuring care providers have the cultural awareness necessary to work with a variety of indigenous people and dialects.

The effort will include working with a more diverse group of providers for referrals through the hotline.

The first in person summit in 6 years will start Wenesday, November 30th, and will be streamed live from Washington, D.C here.