North Dakota passes legislation to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

North Dakota lawmakers have successfully passed several bills aimed at addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP), despite facing what Rep. Jayme Davis (D-Rolette) described as a “battle.” House Bill 1199 establishes an MMIP taskforce to bridge jurisdictional gaps between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement agencies. Additionally, House Bill 1535 creates a “Feather Alert” system—similar to Amber or Silver Alerts—to notify the public when an Indigenous person goes missing and is believed to be in grave danger. House Bill 1603 allocates $500,000 to ensure state compliance with federal legislation requiring the return of Native American remains and sacred objects to tribes. The legislation comes amid statistics showing Indigenous women in North Dakota are ten times more likely to be murdered than the national average, with tribal advocates saying at a Monday MMIP event that “the fight is not over yet.”