Newhouse Urges Administration to Open MMIW Cold Case Office in Central Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr and U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt requesting a Cold Case Task Force Office for Missing and Murdered Indigenous American Indians and Alaska Natives be established through Operation Lady Justice in Yakima, Washington. Cold Case Task Force Offices are an additional step toward addressing the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, specifically dedicated to solving cold cases.
"As you know, after years of work and advocacy, Congress finally reached a bipartisan consensus on two pieces of critical legislation to address this crisis, and President Trump signed both Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act into law earlier this year," wrote Newhouse. "The signing of these bills is a monumental step toward accomplishing our shared goal of delivering justice to the families and loved ones of MMIW across the country, but there is more to be done. Now, we must continue working to ensure Native American women will no longer face violent crimes that go uninvestigated or unsolved. That work must begin in the communities most affected, and recent data demonstrates that my home state of Washington is particularly impacted by the MMIW crisis."
Newhouse continued, "With an understanding of the outsized impact this crisis has on Central Washington, I write to request that a Cold Case Task Force Office be established through Operation Lady Justice in Yakima, Washington through dedicated funding provided to your agencies through FY21 appropriations. This office will be instrumental as we continue to work to address and put an end to the decades-long crisis that affects native communities throughout the country."
The Cold Case Task Forces are in accordance with President Trump's Executive Order establishing an interagency task force, Operation Lady Justice. The offices will be staffed with law enforcement personnel and newly appointed special agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS), along with personnel from other Operation Lady Justice Task Force partners, including tribal law enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Offices of the U.S. Attorneys.
On July 27, 2020, the Trump Administration established the first Cold Case Task Force Office for Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives in Bloomington, Minnesota. Six additional Cold Case Task Force offices were opened in Rapid City, South Dakota; Billings, Montana; Nashville, Tennessee; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Phoenix, Arizona; and Anchorage, Alaska.
Read the full text of the letter here and below:
Dear Attorney General Barr and Secretary Bernhardt,
Thank you for your leadership implementing Operation Lady Justice and your commitment to solving the open cases involving missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) through the establishment of Cold Case Task Force Offices across the United States. I write to request that a Cold Case Task Force Office be established through Operation Lady Justice in Yakima, Washington.
Through the establishment of the Presidential Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, also known as Operation Lady Justice, President Trump has undertaken an unprecedented initiative to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people — particularly MMIW.
As you know, after years of work and advocacy, Congress finally reached a bipartisan consensus on two pieces of critical legislation to address this crisis, and President Trump signed both Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act into law earlier this year. The signing of these bills is a monumental step toward accomplishing our shared goal of delivering justice to the families and loved ones of MMIW across the country, but there is more to be done. Now, we must continue working to ensure Native American women will no longer face violent crimes that go uninvestigated or unsolved. That work must begin in the communities most affected, and recent data demonstrates that my home state of Washington is particularly impacted by the MMIW crisis.
Native Americans make up an estimated 2% of our state's population, however a recent report by the Washington State Patrol shows that Native Women account for 7% of the state's reported missing women. My congressional district is home to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville Tribes) and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation (Yakama Nation) – two of the 29 federally-recognized tribes in Washington state, and there are currently 31 open cases of MMIW on or near the Yakama Nation reservation alone.
Both Yakama Nation and Colville Tribes have been actively engaged in working with my office to enact solutions that improve law enforcement coordination, empower law enforcement agencies to effectively investigate MMIW cases, and increase communication with Native communities. With an understanding of the outsized impact this crisis has on Central Washington, I write to request that a Cold Case Task Force Office be established through Operation Lady Justice in Yakima, Washington through dedicated funding provided to your agencies through FY21 appropriations. This office will be instrumental as we continue to work to address and put an end to the decades-long crisis that affects native communities throughout the country.