In 2019, more than a dozen members of Congress — including Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Ruben Gallego — asked the Government Accountability Office to gather more information on the issue of missing or murdered Indigenous women.
The GAO has now released its findings on the crisis.
Research has shown that Native American women experience higher rates of violence than most other women in the U.S.
But the full extent of the problem remains unknown, in part because mistrust of law enforcement runs deep in Indian country, and investigations can be complicated by overlapping law enforcement jurisdictions.
Although the federal government recently passed laws to address the issue, it has been slow to effect meaningful change.
The report recommended that the Departments of Justice and Interior work together to develop a plan of action.
