Missing and murdered Indigenous people

Montana's Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force has re-formed with new staff. The group has existed in Montana since 2019, but it hasn’t met since lawmakers funded an expansion of their work within the Department of Justice last year.

Montana’s Missing Persons Task Force has not met since last summer despite the Legislature funding the group for the next decade.

A district court judge has granted a temporary block on a state rule that restricts Medicaid coverage of abortion, maintaining current coverage of the procedure while a lawsuit plays out. A bill to extend funding for Montana’s Missing Indigenous Person’s Task Force has passed its final vote in the House. The legislation would renew the working group through 2033.

A bill establishing a grant program to fund training for missing persons response teams has passed the state Senate and is headed to the governor’s desk.

The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill that would renew Montana’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force for another two years and add members from the Office of Public Instruction.

Two bills addressing the issue of missing persons in Montana passed out of the House floor Wednesday, and will now move on to the Senate.

According to the report, Indigenous people accounted for nearly a third of all 2021 missing person reports in Montana, despite only making up roughly 7% of the state’s total population.

Dozens of people Thursday walked across Browning to commemorate a national day of awareness for missing and murdered indigenous persons. The walk comes as the local college is launching a database that aims to help resolve unsolved cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court v. Cooley decision earlier this month upheld the practice of detaining non-Native suspects on tribal roadways. The practice of detaining non-Natives until the authorities arrive from neighboring districts is common practice on many reservations throughout the US.

The crisis of violence against Indigenous women and girls is being recognized in ceremonies in Montana and around the nation this week. Family members and…