(CBS-DETROIT) – A new state task force will try to address high rates of violence against indigenous people in Michigan.
Attorney General Dana Nessel says the Missing or Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Task Force will consist of tribal, federal, state and local prosecutors, law enforcement, victim advocates and human services specialists.
More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, according to a federal survey.
Nessel says one of the focuses for the task force will be improving the investigation and prosecution of missing or murdered Indigenous people.
“By prosecuting and addressing the root causes of these crimes, and working directly with this broad coalition of MMIP Task Force members, we can build safer communities and pave the way to justice for the families and victims affected by these crisis have been hit,” Nessel said in a press conference. written statement Friday.
The group will also work to create a “holistic, victim-centered and culturally honorable approach to prevention, response and support.”
State officials have created a new tip line for people to report missing or murdered indigenous people in Michigan: 517-284-0008.
“Too many of our sisters and brothers live with the devastation of having prematurely lost a loved one to violence,” Matthew Wesaw, tribal council chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, said in a written statement. “We hope this new partnership will build on our previous efforts to make a meaningful difference.”
Officials of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Gun Lake Tribe, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi and the Sault Ste. The Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians also supports the new task force.
The Ministry of Attorney General held the group’s first meeting in September, with the next one scheduled for December.
