Big Sky Times

HELENA – On this Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day, Attorney General Austin Knudsen praised the Legislature for passing bills supported by the Montana Department of Justice this session to combat human trafficking and the missing and murdered Indigenous persons crisis in Montana.

“First as Roosevelt County Attorney and now as Attorney General, I have had a front-row seat to the devastating impact that human trafficking and the missing persons crisis has on Montana’s tribal communities which are disproportionally impacted by the problem,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “I am committed to ending it. I’m grateful to state lawmakers and Governor Gianforte for working with us this session to make great strides to hold human traffickers accountable and bolster the Montana Department of Justice’s response to missing and Indigenous persons across the state.”

Six Indigenous persons reported missing in 2022 are still actively missing out of the 565 Indigenous persons who were entered as missing last year – a 99 percent case clearance rate. However, Indian Country is disproportionately affected by human trafficking and missing men, women, and children. While Indigenous persons make up roughly six percent of Montana’s population, 24 percent (41 out of 170) of active missing person cases in Montana were identified as Indigenous persons as of May 1. Of the 41 missing Indigenous persons, 21 are female and 20 are male, 20 have been missing for more than one year, and 15 are under the age of 21.

Legislation DOJ supported to combat human trafficking and the missing and murdered Indigenous persons crisis includes:

Human Trafficking

• House Bill 112, sponsored by Rep. Jodee Etchart of Billings, will increase the penalties for human trafficking and will provide prosecutors with more tools to prosecute human traffickers. It expands the definition of human trafficking and will help increase the crackdown on sexual abuse of children and all victims. To read more about the bill, click here.
• Senate Bill 522, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Zolnikov of Billings, creates an emergency lodging grant program to assist in providing short-term lodging in the state to individuals and families that are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking. To read more about the bill, click here.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons

• House Bill 163, sponsored by Rep. Tyson Running Wolf of Browning, extends the Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force and provides for a full-time program coordinator. To read more about the bill, click here.
• House Bill 18, sponsored by Rep. Tyson Running Wolf of Browning, establishes a missing persons response team training grant program. This bill will bolster the Montana Department of Justice’s response to missing and Indigenous people across the state. To read more about the bill, click here.
• Senate Joint Resolution 5, sponsored by Sen. Bob Brown of Trout Creek, urges Congress to fund law enforcement in Indian Country. To read more about the resolution, click here.
• House Joint Resolution 1, sponsored by Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway of Great Falls, requests an interim study on missing youth and requires the final result of the study to be reported to the Legislature. To read more about the resolution, click here.

Original source can be found here.