Data & Research

Reviewing, gathering and obtaining data is essential to determining the root causes of issues surrounding American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) who have gone missing, as well as those who have been murdered, so that issues can be understood and addressed. Among the challenges to having good data are an adult’s right to go missing, Tribal sovereignty, sometimes limited understanding about Tribal membership and racial demographics and disparate data collection systems. At the federal level, the U.S. government collects public safety and public health data across all populations, which includes data on AI/AN who have gone missing or have been murdered. States and tribes also collect and analyze data, including state and Tribal task forces.

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

Among the significant considerations in data collection on this issue is the importance of understanding more about human trafficking and its potential relationship in missing or murdered Indigenous people. Another consideration is understanding more about the extractive industries (oil, natural gas, pipelines, mining) and the potential relationship to missing or murdered Indigenous people. While the OLJ Task Force was unable to undertake research related to these topics during its tenure, it has recommended this research be undertaken in future endeavors. Below is a list of publications and practical resources to assist in better understanding these topics.

• Reporting & Investigating Missing Persons: A Background Paper on How to Frame the Issue. This background paper frames the issue of reporting and investigating missing persons and includes a discussion of how data is collected for American Indians and Alaska Natives. The paper was funded by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Institute of Justice.
• Journal of Federal Law and Practice issues. As part of a collaborative effort between the DOJ Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative and Operation Lady Justice, the Department published two issues of the Department of Justice Journal of Federal Law and Practice dedicated to the topics of missing or murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.
  • Issue on Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons: Legal, Prosecution, Advocacy and Healthcare: This issue, published March 2021, focuses on topics related to law, prosecution, advocacy and healthcare-related issues.
  • Issue on Missing or Murdered Indigenous People: Law Enforcement & Prevention: This issue, published January 2021, focuses on law enforcement and prevention-related issues.

Human Trafficking

• Dept. of State Annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Under the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Dept. of State releases an annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which includes information on U.S. government anti-trafficking efforts.
• National Human Trafficking Hotline. Managed by the Polaris Project and funded by the Dept. of Health and Human Services, the National Human Trafficking Hotline maintains data sets based on contacts and tips it receives, and has a resource library with reports, guides, trainings and resource tools. Up-to-date information can be found on its Hotline Statistics page, including the Trafficking Hotline’s 2019 Statistics.
• Dept. of Justice, National Institute of Justice grant award. In fiscal year 2021, NIJ made a five-year grant award to a coalition for Indigenous-led Research on Sex Trafficking among Native Americans in the Northern Great Plains. The findings will be used to create initiatives to prevent sex trafficking of Native Americans and to identify survivors and connect them with systems of care.

Extractive Industries

• Dept. of State, The Link Between Extractive Industries and Sex Trafficking. This fact sheet is a brief global overview of how extractive industries can increase the risk for sex trafficking.  

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FEDERAL DATA SOURCES & REPORTS

Public Safety Data and Reports

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
  In addition to serving as the nation’s clearinghouse for missing children, NCMEC also compiles information about missing juveniles (including endangered 18–20-year-olds) as requested by law enforcement, and gathers information on exploited child cases from law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners and family members of missing children. NCMEC is funded in part by the Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
  • In 2020, NCMEC released a report on Native American Children Reported Missing to NCMEC (January 2009-December 2018).


• National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC’s) Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics
  The Federal Bureau of Investigation annually publishes an NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics report, available on the FBI’s NCIC page. The report summarizes the total number of missing persons entered into, and removed from, the Missing Person File during each calendar year. Statistical breakdowns of the missing person entry totals by age, sex, race and entry criteria are included. In addition, the report summarizes the total number of unidentified persons entered into, and removed from, the Unidentified Person File during each calendar year, broken down by entry criteria.
  • NCIC's 2020 Missing Person File data compilation
  • OLJ's 2020 Missing American Indian and Alaska Native Persons Data infographic


• National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
  NIBRS provides detailed incident-level information on crime as part of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. NIBRS, administered by the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) division, collects data on crimes and arrests known to law enforcement. Data elements/variables include criminal incident details, perpetrator and victim characteristics and clearance information. UCR releases annual NIBRS data, which is used by researchers to analyze crime trends, and topical NIBRS studies.
  • Annual NIBRS data
  • UCR publications, with topical NIBRS studies


• National Institute of Justice
  Housed in the Dept. of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, the National Institute of Justice has a Tribal Crime and Justice portfolio that aims to provide accurate reporting of crime and violence and reliable, valid estimates of the problem’s scope, and to identify barriers and solutions to the issues.

  Relevant webpages

  • NIJ's Tribal Crime and Justice portfolio page
  • The Violence Against AI/AN Women National Baseline Study, mandated by the Violence Against Women Act, is looking at the health, wellness and safety of AI/AN women living in Indian Country and Alaska Native communities.

  Select articles & publications

  • The Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men study (Andre B. Rosay, 2016) showed that AI/AN women and men face statistically significant higher rates of violence than non-Hispanic whites. Highlights from the study are summarized in this article. And fact sheet Five Things About Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men summarizes five findings from the report.
  • The report “Cases Associated with Violence in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)” contains a special section on missing or murdered Indigenous people. (Steven Hafner, B.J. Spamer, and Bruce Budowle, 2020)

  Ongoing studies

  • Grantee: University of Nebraska at Omaha (2019-75-CX-0014), Project Title: “A Descriptive Analysis of Missing and Murdered Native Women and Children in Nebraska, Barriers to Reporting and Investigation, and Recommendations for Improving Access to Justice.” For more details, see https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/awards/2019-75-cx-0014.


• National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
  The NamUs database (namus.gov) is a national information clearinghouse for missing, unidentified and unclaimed person cases in the U.S. NamUs enables tribes to collect data on their missing persons, and provides a tool for sharing and comparing case information across jurisdictional boundaries. Anyone can enter and search case information on the NamUs dashboard and regional specialists can assist in the search for a missing person. NamUs publishes monthly trend data of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) missing person cases.


• Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP)
  ViCAP assists in the investigation of violent crime cases. ViCAP is administrated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), through the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC). ViCap gathers information from law enforcement agencies about major violent crimes. Data elements/variable include homicide, sexual assault, missing persons and unidentified persons where violence is suspected.

Public Health Data and Reports

• National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
  NVDRS, administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides surveillance of violent death in the U.S., as well as contextualizing information on such deaths. NVDRS gathers information from law enforcement agencies about violent deaths and circumstantial information available through law enforcement records and other sources. Data elements and variables include homicide, suicide and deaths of undetermined intent.
  • CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report  (Nov. 19, 2021): Homicides of American Indians/Alaska Natives – National Violent Death Reporting System, U.S., 2003-18 
    
  • The CDC’s Violence Against Native Peoples Fact Sheet summarizes NVSS and NVDRS data specific to AI/AN people.


• National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS)
  The NISVS is an ongoing CDC survey that collects the most current and comprehensive national- and state-level data on intimate partner violence, sexual violence and stalking victimization in the United States to enhance violence prevention efforts.
  • The 2011, 2012, and 2015 NISVS data is now available.


• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)
  The YRBSS monitors six categories of health-related behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults. Administered by CDC, the YRBSS contains surveys conducted by CDC, education and health agencies, and state, territorial and tribal governments.


• Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)
  WISQARS is the CDC’s interactive, online database that provides fatal and nonfatal injury, violent death and cost of injury data, compiled from several data systems.

Data Sharing for Tribes and Those Partnering With Tribes

• NativeDATA: This project by Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center’s IDEA-NW, and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides guidance for Tribes when considering sharing health data and for public health authorities when requesting data, as well as data sovereignty issues for Tribes. The project has advice on requesting health data, building strong data sharing partnerships, developing protective data agreements and communicating effectively about data sharing. For more information, visit NativeDATA.npaihb.org or email the NativeDATA team at [email protected]

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TRIBAL & STATE TASK FORCES, DATA & REPORTS

Operation Lady Justice (OLJ) coordinated closely with the Tribes and states already working on the issues surrounding missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives via established task forces or other efforts with similar goals and objectives. Through sharing information on all ongoing efforts, individual Tribes, states and federal partners can learn from each other, develop common understandings, and strategize on activities and recommendations to address missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. OLJ continues to collect information from Tribes and states here to inform the public about these efforts throughout Tribal nations and the country. 

TRIBAL TASK FORCES & REPORTS

• Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
  Workgroup: https://csktribes.org
• Navajo Nation, Missing and Murdered Diné Relatives: https://www.navajommdr.com
• Yakama Nation, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Committee:  http://www.yakamanationnsn.gov/council.php
• Yurok Tribe, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: https://www.yuroktribe.org/

STATE DATA & REPORTS

In addition to task forces in a few states to focus on missing Indigenous people, every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada has a missing persons clearinghouse. These clearinghouses receive data on missing persons from law enforcement agencies; data elements and variables include personal characteristics, photographs and missing case circumstances. Information about what each state’s clearinghouse collects is on the individual state pages below. Additionally, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children maintains a list of the missing persons clearinghouse websites.