The Trump administration has been accused of dismantling a historic programme addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples (MMIP), after the final report of the Not Invisible Act Commission was removed from federal websites. The report, published in November 2023, was the result of a bipartisan law signed by Trump himself and represented the first major federal effort to document and respond to the disproportionate violence faced by Native American communities.
The commission held seven field hearings across the US and a virtual national hearing, gathering testimony from nearly 600 attendees, including survivors, victims’ families and law enforcement. The report provided recommendations for federal, state and tribal governments to tackle the crisis, which sees homicide as the third leading cause of death for Indigenous girls and women aged 15 to 24.
Advocates have expressed shock at the removal. Charolette Gonzales, policy director at the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, said the move raised concerns about the availability of other critical information. “We make sure our communities are informed. What does that mean for them?” she asked. The coalition focuses on preventive education to equip Indigenous women with self-advocacy skills.
Karrisa Newkirk of MMIW Chahta in Oklahoma called the removal “a slap in the face” and “a huge step back”. She said that while her organisation would continue supporting families, the loss of a national database made the crisis less visible. “It felt like we were being heard and recognised, and then all of a sudden it felt like that was no longer what it was anymore,” she said.
Despite the setback, advocates are vowing to press on. The Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women has begun discussing creating its own database to fill the gap left by the removal. The Not Invisible Act itself remains law, but the disappearance of its final report marks a significant blow to efforts to address the MMIP crisis.
