• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Digital News Updates
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business

Knudsen Marks MMIP Awareness Day

May 10, 2025

In recognition of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen reaffirmed his office’s commitment to addressing the disproportionate impact of violence on tribal communities across the state.

“I have had a front row seat to the devastation inflicted on Montana’s tribal communities by the missing and murdered Indigenous persons crisis,” Knudsen said in a statement Friday. “At the Montana Department of Justice, we will not waver in our commitment to working with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners to end it.”

Knudsen, a former prosecutor in Roosevelt County, encouraged the public to engage with the state’s missing persons database to familiarize themselves with ongoing cases. “Together, we can find the missing and bring them home,” he said.

In the 2025 Legislative Session, Knudsen backed two key pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening the state’s response to MMIP cases:

  • House Bill 545, sponsored by Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, will rename the Montana Missing Persons Task Force to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Advisory Council, pending the governor’s signature. The bill also adds a homicide investigator to the council and requires it to submit recommendations to federal agencies on how to better address the issue.
  • House Bill 83, also sponsored by Running Wolf, establishes a special revenue account to allow the council to accept donations. The funds will support initiatives that raise awareness and aid in preventing and solving MMIP cases.

Under Knudsen’s direction, the Montana Department of Justice has upgraded its public missing persons database, which includes details on all individuals reported missing by local law enforcement. The database is a critical tool for families, investigators, and the public.

In 2024, 688 Indigenous people were reported missing in Montana. While most were eventually located, eight remained missing by year’s end. As of May 5, 2025, the database shows 37 Indigenous persons are currently missing, including 14 who have been missing for less than a year and 23 for over a year.

The MMIP crisis continues to disproportionately affect Native American communities across Montana, where Indigenous people make up roughly 7% of the population but represent a significantly higher percentage of missing persons cases.

By: DNU staff

Filed Under: News

Related Articles:

  • Montana Historical Society Launches Final Fundraising Push for Montana Heritage Center
  • Montana Attorney General Launches Investigation into Lee Enterprises Following Cyberattack
  • Governor’s Emergency Funds Approved to Aid ICE in Transporting Dangerous Illegal Aliens
  • Gianforte Appoints Marta Bertoglio as Department of Commerce Director
  • Gianforte Honors Seven Central Montana Veterans
  • DOJ Warns of Scam Texts Impersonating Motor Vehicle Division

Primary Sidebar

Digital News Updates Logo

Recent News Posts

  • North Dakota to Celebrate Grand Opening of Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
  • Montana Attorney General Launches Investigation into Lee Enterprises Following Cyberattack
  • VA slams Democrat governor for falsely claiming vets could be denied care
  • Montana State names 2025 presidential scholars

Recent Politics Posts

  • Gianforte Praises Supreme Court Ruling
  • Zinke Urges Interior Secretary to Act on Projected Low Flathead Lake Levels
  • Senator Daines Leads Bipartisan Push to Celebrate “Great Outdoors Month”
  • Sheehy Introduces Legislation to Compensate Service Members Discharged Over COVID Vaccine Mandate

Recent Business Posts

  • Bridger Aerospace Welcomes Executive Order to Reshape Wildland Firefighting
  • Gianforte Appoints Marta Bertoglio as Department of Commerce Director
  • Daktronics to Announce Q4 and Fiscal 2025 Results on June 25
  • Performance Engineering Earns National Honors

Copyright © 2025 Digital News Updates, All Rights Reserved.