Online database launched to track missing and murdered Indigenous people

As thousands of cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women go untracked, officials in one state are trying to help fill the information vacuum and prompt closure and accountability.

Colorado authorities have launched an online dashboard that tracks cases and the results of investigations, such as whether a missing person has been found, whether an arrest has been made and the disposition of any charges. It includes information about the victims, including tribal affiliations, photos and what happened, and has resources for family members.

"It's of critical importance to have this information in one spot," Susan Medina, chief of staff for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said. "Not just for people in Colorado, but also for people in surrounding communities. It helps give a powerful voice to this important topic."

More than 5,200 Indigenous women and girls were missing in 2021, according to the FBI's National Crime Information Center — more than 2.5 times their share of the U.S. population, USA TODAY reported in a 2022 investigation.

But that's likely not the real number, the U.S. Government Accountability Office noted: "Research shows that violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women in the U.S. is a crisis," the agency said on its website. "Cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women persist nationwide, but without more comprehensive case data in federal databases, the full extent of the problem is unknown."

The dashboard is an initiative of the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice Department of Public Safety and was created after Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation in June 2022 aimed at addressing the issue.

The legislation also created an Office of the Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, which connects families with resources, provides information about how to report missing persons, works to increase awareness and collaborates with tribal communities, and tribal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

In 2021, President Joe Biden called the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people a "crisis" and signed an executive order directing federal agencies to address the problem.

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Activists told USA TODAY in 2022 that colonial trauma, prejudice and ineffective government policies combined to trap Indigenous communities in generational cycles of poverty, substance use disorder and domestic abuse. Indigenous people have a lower life expectancy than people in other racial and ethnic groups, the National Indian Council on Aging reports.

Those factors are among the reasons cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people are not handled with the same urgency, advocates said. Time and again worried loved ones have said their concerns were dismissed by police too busy to search for, as one relative, Rose Ozuna-Grusing, said, just 'another drunk Indian.'

“The multifunctional dashboard will contribute to raising awareness, reach a universal audience, provide additional resources and help tell the important stories of those that have gone missing,” Colorado's Department of Public Safety Executive Director Stan Hilkey said.

Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra.