Washington Governor Jay Inslee signing House Bill 1177 into law.
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is continuing to take strides in his office’s focus to help solve cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people.
Late last month, the office was awarded the largest-ever federal Emmett Till Cold Case Investigations and Prosecution grant. Ferguson applied for a $750,000 grant, only to receive $1.5 million—double the requested amount. The grant monies will support the new Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & People (MMIWP) Cold Case Unit within the Office of the Attorney General.
In general, American Indian and Alaskan Native women and people experience violence at much higher rates than other populations. The National Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reports that homicide is the sixth-leading cause of death for Indigenous women and girls and the third-leading cause of death for Indigenous men. A recent federal study reported that Native American women are murdered at rates 10 times the national average in some jurisdictions.
In Washington state specifically, Indigenous victims are 5% of the unresolved cases throughout the state, while making up less than 2% of the population. Additionally, due to reporting practices, racial misclassification, data collection and jurisdictional issues, the actual disparity is likely even more significant.
That’s part of the reason why Ferguson created the MMIWP Cold Case Unit, which is only 8 months old, being signed into law in April 2023 with the passing of House Bill 1177. Just last month, Ferguson appointed Brian George, a 27-year law enforcement veteran and enrolled member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, to lead to unit, which is the first of its kind in the nation.
In addition to George, the unit will include investigators and a case navigator whose primary function is to work with and maintain regular, consistent communication with families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and people, and to convey information between the investigators and families using culturally appropriate and trauma-informed practices.
And now, the Emmett Till federal grant will allow the office to hire two additional full-time staff, who will travel across the state over the next three years and work closely with up to 10 tribes to identify pre-1980 cold cases. Together, Ferguson’s office, the MMIWP Cold Case Unit, and the partner tribes will develop an inventory of cases to potentially be investigated and prosecuted. Each tribe will receive compensation to assist in the research. Additionally, the AG’s office plans to contract with a research expert who specializes in tribal archives and a storyteller who will help preserve stories uncovered in the research.
“Significant work remains to fully understand the scale of the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people,” said Ferguson. “This grant builds upon our nation-leading response to the crisis. It provides resources that are necessary for strengthening tribal partnerships that are critical to seeking justice for victims.”
The $1.5 million grant is the largest-ever grant from the program, which was launched in 2020 as part of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. Five tribes—Colville, Cowlitz, Puyallup, Spokane and Suquamish—submitted letters of support for the AG’s project.
“Tribal archives are unique, complex and sacred. To honor that sacredness and uphold tribal sovereignty, this project will involve a partnership with tribes to both directly engage in the research, and to develop the methodologies for conducting it. All five tribes that submitted letters in support of the project also shared their intent to work with the Attorney General’s Office on the project,” the AG’s office said in a statement.
Ferguson convened the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force in 2021. Since then, it has made significant strides in its mission. The 23-member task force combines institutional and cultural knowledge of Indigenous communities, tribal nations and state agencies to center the experiences of survivors and families.
In the two prior years, unanimous recommendations from the task force have resulted in several Attorney General Request bills enacted into law, including an alert system that helps identify and locate missing Indigenous women and people. It is the first of its kind in the nation.
The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force just released their 2023 report on December 1. At the state level, the task force recommends increasing funding for DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy of unidentified remains though the Death Investigations Account administered by the Forensic Investigation Council. They also recommend the creation of a work group co-led by the AG’s office, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, family members, and two Tribal Epidemiology Centers to develop best practices for Indigenous demographic data collection by law enforcement, coroners and medical examiners. At the federal level, the task force recommends the U.S. Department of Justice establish a nationwide Missing Indigenous Persons Alert—similar to what Washington pioneered in 2022.