Operation Not Forgotten: Justice for Indigenous Communities?

Violent crime has long cast a shadow over Indigenous communities across the United States, leaving families grappling with loss and unanswered questions. On April 2, 2025, the Justice Department announced a bold step to confront this crisis head-on, deploying 60 FBI personnel to 10 field offices nationwide under Operation Not Forgotten. This six-month initiative, the most extensive of its kind, targets unresolved cases in Indian Country, including the haunting epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous persons.

The operation spans cities like Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Seattle, where agents will rotate through 90-day assignments. Working alongside the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement, the FBI aims to bring closure to cases that have lingered for years. For communities where crime rates soar far above national averages, this surge offers a glimmer of possibility, a chance to hold perpetrators accountable and restore a measure of safety.

The numbers paint a stark picture. At the start of 2025, the FBI’s Indian Country program juggled roughly 4,300 open investigations, from death probes to child abuse cases. Native Americans face murder rates 10 times higher than the national average, with homicide ranking among the top causes of death for Native women. Advocates point to a tangle of factors, historic neglect, economic hardship, and jurisdictional confusion, that fuel this violence.

Take Montana, for instance. Native Americans make up just 6.7% of the population but account for 27% of active missing persons cases. Nationwide, the Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates over 4,200 unsolved missing and murdered Indigenous persons cases exist, though many believe the true figure climbs higher due to underreporting. Operation Not Forgotten builds on earlier efforts, having already supported over 500 cases since 2023, recovering 10 child victims and securing dozens of arrests.

This operation isn’t just about boots on the ground. The FBI is tapping cutting-edge forensic tools, like genetic genealogy, to crack cold cases. Partnerships with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit and systems like NamUs bolster these efforts, helping identify remains and track down leads. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices stand ready to prosecute, promising swift action on case referrals.

Collaboration is key. The FBI’s jurisdiction over major crimes on nearly 200 reservations, established by laws like the Major Crimes Act of 1885, intersects with Tribal police and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Yet, the vast, remote nature of these lands poses real challenges. Local knowledge often guides agents through rugged terrain, while federal resources aim to bridge gaps in training and technology that tribal agencies struggle to access.

Officials herald the operation as a game-changer. Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized accountability, vowing to deliver justice to communities long overlooked. FBI Director Kash Patel framed it as a manhunt for violent offenders, a mission to find the missing and punish the guilty. In Minnesota, Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick welcomed the resources, noting their potential to boost public safety across Tribal lands.

Not everyone’s convinced the surge will rewrite the story. Some Tribal leaders and advocates argue that temporary deployments, while welcome, don’t address deeper woes, underfunding, staffing shortages, and a legal patchwork that complicates prosecutions. They call for sustained investment and reforms, pointing to laws like the Tribal Law and Order Act as steps forward but not cure-alls. The tension reflects a broader debate about how best to heal wounds rooted in centuries of systemic violence.

The violence plaguing Indian Country didn’t spring up overnight. Colonization, forced assimilation, and land loss set the stage for today’s disparities, leaving Indigenous communities wrestling with trauma and limited protections. Federal efforts, from the Violence Against Women Act to task forces like Operation Lady Justice, have chipped away at the problem, yet enforcement stumbles persist. Operation Not Forgotten, launched under an executive order from President Trump’s first term, marks a renewed push, its third deployment since 2023.

Forensic advances offer a lifeline. Techniques now used in Operation Spirit Return, another BIA-led effort, have identified remains in cases decades old. Still, the gap between federal ambition and on-the-ground reality looms large. Tribal law enforcement often operates on shoestring budgets, and trust between communities and outside agencies remains fragile, a legacy of history that no single operation can fully mend.

Operation Not Forgotten wraps up its six-month run in late 2025, but its impact will ripple longer. Families hope for answers, communities eye safer streets, and law enforcement tests whether this surge can shift the tide. The Justice Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program will keep attorneys and coordinators in place, aiming to prevent future cases and sustain momentum.

The stakes are high. Success could mean more than arrests, it could signal a turning point in how the nation confronts crime in Indian Country. Failure risks deepening distrust and despair. As agents fan out across Tribal lands, the question hangs heavy, will this be the moment justice finally catches up, or just another chapter in a fight that’s far from over?