Biden to sign order to address 'epidemic' of missing, murdered Native Americans at White House summit

President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order Monday directing federal agencies, including the departments of Justice, Interior and Homeland Security, to create a strategy addressing what the administration calls an "epidemic" of missing or murdered Indigenous people.

The order, which Biden is expected to sign as part of the White House's first-ever Tribal Leaders Summit, "tasks DOJ, Interior and Homeland Security to address and create a strategy in 240 days for specific law enforcement issues and to provide tribal nations with support in implementing tribally centered responses as well," to combat violence against Native communities, an administration official said Sunday. The Department of Health and Human Services will also be charged with developing plans for violence prevention and victim support.

In April, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is the country's first Native American Cabinet Secretary, announced a unit within her department's Bureau of Indian Affairs aimed at tackling the crisis of missing and murdered Native Americans, calling it "a crisis that has been underfunded for decades." Thousands of Indigenous women and girls have been reported killed or missing for years, while families and activists say their cases are often disregarded by law enforcement, which has forced them to bring the spotlight on the issue through social media campaigns, marches and protests.