Deb Haaland creates unit to investigate missing and murdered Native Americans, a look at why it’s necessary
Indigenous communities have been struggling for years to raise awareness.
According to the Urban Indian Health Institute, homicide is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women aged 10 to 24. The Justice Department also found that Native women are victims of murder over 10 times the national average. But without assistance from non-tribal federal, state and local agencies, these cases have gone underfunded and uninvestigated.