Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons public database training offered at four Montana Indian Reservations

BILLINGS—The U.S. Attorney’s Office held on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation today the first of four public trainings this week on how to use a national database system for missing persons, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The USAO also recently released a Missing Indigenous Persons Public Service Announcement on what people can do if a loved one goes missing.

A representative for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, showed attendees in Browning how to use the free, online tool to report and find missing persons.

“Native American women suffer high rates of violence, including murder. When women go missing, they need to be found, and murdered victims need their killers brought to justice,” U.S. Attorney Alme said.

“By bringing NamUs training to Montana and our Indian reservations, we hope community members will learn how to use this free and secure tool to report and ultimately find their missing loved one. Our public service announcement also provides information on what to do if someone goes missing,” U.S. Attorney Alme said.

NamUs trainings also will be offered on Thursday at 10 a.m. at Rocky Boy’s Stone Child College Vo-Tech Center in Box Elder; at 1:30 p.m. at the Fort Belknap Agency Community building in Harlem; and on Friday at 9:30 a.m. at the Fort Peck Tribal Complex, Phase 3, in Poplar.

Administered by the National Institute of Justice, NamUs is accessible to both law enforcement and the public and allows them to enter and share information about missing persons. NamUs is available online at NamUs.gov.

The recently released a Missing Indigenous Persons PSA with steps people can take if a loved one goes missing was produced with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office. The Missing Indigenous Persons PSA is available at the following link: https://youtu.be/pXNHF8jnZYM.

NamUs training was presented earlier this year to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on the Flathead Reservation, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and the Crow Tribe. NamUs training also was offered at two Missing Persons Training sessions for the public and law enforcement held in Helena and in Billings. The statewide training sessions were co-sponsored by the USAO, the Montana Department of Justice, the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

XXX