PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING AND PROTECTING NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 26, 2019 PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING AND PROTECTING NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN ACROSS THE COUNTRY “We remain committed to preserving and protecting Native American cultures, languages, and history, while ensuring prosperity and opportunity for all Native Americans.” – President Donald J. Trump   PROTECTING NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN: President Donald J. Trump is committed to protecting Native American women and children from harm. Today’s executive order establishes Operation Lady Justice – an interagency task force charged with developing an aggressive, government-wide strategy to address the crisis of missing and murdered women and girls in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The task force will establish multi-jurisdictional teams comprising representatives from Tribal and Federal law enforcement to review unsolved cases. In addition, this new task force will promote greater cooperation among Federal, local, state, and Tribal law enforcement agencies in responding to cases. To better equip communities to respond to the crisis, the task force will undertake efforts to increase public awareness of the issue. This executive order also directs the Department of Justice to issue grants to help improve safety in Native American communities. ADDRESSING THE CRISIS: The Administration is working to address the crisis of missing and murdered women in Native American communities. The heartbreaking crisis of missing and murdered women is especially severe in Native American communities. One study found that Native American women in certain Tribal communities are 10 times more likely to be murdered than the average American. In October, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded over $273.4 million in grants to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women and support youth programs in Native American communities. Earlier this month, DOJ launched a national strategy to address missing and murdered Native Americans. SUPPORTING TRIBAL COMMUNITIES: Operation Lady Justice is the latest step in the President’s efforts to support our Tribal communities. President Trump became the first president to officially recognize the grave issue of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives by issuing a “Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day” proclamation. In March 2019, President Trump announced the Presidential Task force on Protecting Native American Children in the Indian Health Service System. This task force helps to safeguard Native American children from abuse in the healthcare system. President Trump signed legislation that restored the opportunity to receive promised land allotments to nearly 3,000 Alaska Native veterans who served in Vietnam. To help expand broadband development in Indian country, the Administration held a National Tribal Broadband Summit this past September. This year, President Trump secured an agreement with President Niinistӧ of Finland to repatriate American Indian ancestral remains and funerary objects to the United States.