'Operation Not Forgotten': FBI partners with BIA on unsolved Indigenous peoples cases

SALT LAKE CITY – The Justice Department announced Tuesday the FBI will send personnel to field offices to aid investigations on tribal lands. 'Operation Not Forgotten' will be a six-month partnership between the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies focused on "unresolved violent crimes," including missing and murdered Indigenous peoples cases. "Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. "By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with U.S. Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve." The DOJ said the FBI will send 60 personnel to 10 FBI field offices including Salt Lake City. The FBI personnel will rotate in 90-day temporary assignments over the span of six months, and support field offices in Albuquerque, Denver, Detroit, Jackson, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Pheonix, Portland, and Seattle. The DOJ said at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, "FBI's Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations." This will be the third deployment under 'Operation Not Forgotten,' the release said. FBI personnel will use forensic evidence processing tools, work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, and expand on resources deployed in recent years. "The FBI will manhunt violent criminals on all lands – and Operation Not Forgotten ensures a surge in resources to locate violent offenders on tribal lands and find those who have gone missing," Kash Patel, FBI director, said. The DOJ said the MMIP Regional Outreach Program will work with U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people.

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