Forwarding from the Department of Justice

The following information is being forwarded from the department of Justice. We ask you relatives to share this with your community and your tribal leaders. Encourage your tribal leaders to attend and write testimonies on behalf of your community for the upcoming consultations and listening session.

Presidential Task Force on Missing and Murdered

American Indians and Alaska Natives Announces Tribal Consultations and Listening Sessions

WASHINGTON – The Presidential Task force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives announced a series of field consultations and listening sessions to occur across the United States in the coming months.

American Indians and Alaska Natives experience disproportionately high rates of violence. President Trump has called the crisis of missing and murdered Native Americans “sobering and heartbreaking.” The task force, designated Operation Lady Justice, has been empowered to review Indian Country cold cases, to strengthen law enforcement protocols, and work with tribes to improve investigations, information sharing and a more seamless response to missing persons investigations.

Confirmed Dates and Locations:

March 2 (3:00-4:30) Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children & Families Tribal Advisory Council Mtg. Washington D.C. Listening Session (CLOSED PRESS)

March 12 (10:30-12:30) Tribal Interior Budget Council Listening Session, Washington, DC (CLOSED PRESS)

March 17 (2:00-5:00) United South & Eastern Tribes (USET), Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes (MAST) Listening Session, Marriott Marquis, 901 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C.

March 24 (9:00-4:00) Muscogee Creek Listening Session, River Spirit Casino, 8330 Riverside Parkway, Tulsa, OK

March 31 (10:30-noon) 38th Annual Protecting Our Children Conference Listening Session, Marriott Denver Tech Center- Host Hotel, Denver, CO (CLOSED PRESS)

April 15 (9:00-4:00) Pascua Yaqui Listening Session, Casino Del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Rd., Tucson, AZ

April 21 (1:30-5:00) Sycuan Band, California Listening Session, 3 Kwaaypaay Court, El Cajon, CA

April 28 (9:00-3:00) National Indian Programs Training Center – CONSULTATION, 1101 Indian School Road NW, rooms 233-234, Albuquerque, NM

May 12 (9:00-4:00) Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Listening Session, Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, 100 Grand Traverse Village Blvd, Acme Township, MI

May 21 (9:00-4:00) Yakama Nation, Washington Listening Session, Legends Casino and Hotel, 580 Fort Road, Toppenish WA

June 7 – 11, Anchorage, Alaska – CONSULTATION, Date and Location TBD

June 16 (10:00-4:00) North Dakota/South Dakota Listening Session, North Dakota Heritage Center, Bismarck, ND

June 23 (5:00-9:00 pm) Women are Sacred Conference Listening Session, Intercontinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel, 11 E. Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul, MN

July 7 (9:00-4:00) Billings, Montana – CONSULTATION, Double Tree Hotel, 27 N 27th, Billings, MT

The members of the task force are:

Katharine Sullivan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, designee for the Attorney General;
Tara Sweeney, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, designee for the Secretary of the Interior;
Terry Wade, Executive Assistant Director, Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch, Federal Bureau of Investigation;
Laura Rogers, Acting Director, Office on Violence Against Women;
Charles Addington, Deputy Bureau Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services;
Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma and Chair of the Native American Issues Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee; and
Jean Hovland, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Affairs and Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services.

Marcia Good of the Department of Justice serves as the Executive Director of the task force. The task force will present a progress report to the President by Nov. 26, 2020, and a final report detailing its activities and accomplishments by Nov. 26, 2021.

NOTE: All sessions will be open to the public and the press unless otherwise designated. As a general rule, each consultation and listening session will include a task force media availability. Opening remarks will be open for audio and visual recording. However, the duration of the testimony by participants will be recordable by pen and pad only.

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