Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) pushed the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to work harder in addressing the missing & murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) crisis in a recent House Natural Resources Committee hearing, saying the people of Arizona "do not see it."
Opening Remarks
"For Arizona, this is a very deeply personal issue," Rep. Grijalva commented. "My district is home to four federally recognized Tribal nations, and Indigenous families have lived with the devastating reality of missing and murdered Indigenous people for far too long. Too many families know what it means to search for a loved one without answers, to navigate overlapping jurisdictions with delayed justice, and to feel abandoned by systems that should have protected them."
The Cause?
Rep. Grijalva suggested that the crisis is the result of "generations of underinvestment in public safety, failures to uphold Tribal sovereignty, and policies that have left Tribal communities without the resources they deserve."
The Arizona congresswoman noted that the Bureau of Indian Affairs asked for $9.7 million less than it did before, asking, "So given the BIA's own assessment of need and the ongoing MMIP crisis, can you acknowledge that the budget request that you submitted does not meet the actual public safety needs in Indian Country?"
The hearing witness, BIA's Principal Director for the Office of Justice Services, Charles Addington, said that the BIA is doing everything it can to address the crisis, only for Grijalva to reply, "I would love to see the specific details of what that looks like, because I have to say, from Arizona's perspective, we do not see it."
Gosar's Perspective
Earlier in the hearing, Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) discussed how emerging technology, such as LIDAR, DNA analysis, and improved reach of AMBER Alerts can help solve the MMIP crisis.
Like Grijalva, Rep. Gosar opened by saying, "With 22 federally recognized Tribes, Arizona is unfortunately too familiar with the MMIP crisis."
