Federal data shows there are roughly 4,200 unsolved missing and murdered Indigenous persons cases. The BIA’s Missing and Murdered Unit is working to bring that number down with the initiative “Operation Spirit Return.”

The agency is partnering with Texas-based company Othram, which uses genetic genealogy to identify human remains. In January, the company found the remains of Michelle Elbow Shield, who went missing from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in September 2023.

Gina Jackson, who is Western Shoshone and an advocate, said any resource going towards the MMIP crisis is a good thing.

“But,” she continued, “the injustices are so huge and so vast that we need some big changes. We need to be protected, and right now, Native women and girls – and Native people, in general – are not being protected.”

The BIA did not respond to the Mountain West News Bureau’s interview request. In a recent press release, the agency said it’s actively investigating 15 unsolved cases across tribal lands. According to the latest federal data, there are open MMIP cases in several Mountain West states, including Nevada, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona and Montana.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.