FBI surges to help a group of victims they don’t want you to forget

Soaring rates of violent acts impacting Indigenous communities and mounting unsolved cases have prompted a surge of FBI agents, analysts and victim specialists from across the country to help investigate crimes on tribal lands.

Soaring rates of violent acts impacting Indigenous communities and mounting unsolved cases have prompted a surge of FBI agents, analysts and victim specialists from across the country to help investigate crimes on tribal lands. Dubbed “Operation Not Forgotten,” the effort is a partnership between the FBI and the US Bureau of Indian Affairs aimed at investigating physical and sexual abuse of children, missing persons cases, violent assaults, domestic violence and murder. From June to September, the operation resulted in the arrests of 40 suspects, the indictment of 11 alleged violent offenders and the removal of nine children from abusive or neglectful situations, the FBI announced Wednesday. The operation, now in its second year, “expands and builds partnerships with federal and tribal law enforcement partners; moves more cases through the criminal justice process – oftentimes in a more timely manner; and provides care, resources, justice and, sometimes, closure for victims and their families,” an FBI official said during a briefing with reporters. As part of the surge of resources, forensic teams have been poring over crime scenes in an effort to help solve investigations on tribal lands. In one case, police were called after a man was reported missing by family members and his body was later found in a field.