The Biden-Harris administration’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), recently reaffirmed its commitment to harnessing resources to confront the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) by releasing an updated action plan. This updated action plan reinforces and enhances ACF’s ongoing efforts to prevent violence to Native people and communities by promoting healing from historical trauma and present-day victimization.
The new MMIP action plan, announced by the Administration for Native Americans at ACF, builds on the ACF Tribal Advisory Committee’s earlier work and responds to recent Biden-Harris White House directives and Executive Order 14053 , entitled Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People. Several mandates directly connect to the ACF MMIP action plan, particularly prevention, trauma-informed care and healing.
In addition, to reduce factors for victimization, ACF administers the National Human Trafficking Hotline and its referrals to mental health organizations and health care providers with the appropriate expertise to work with human trafficking victims, including those who have cultural competency for working with Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to facing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People head-on,” said ACF Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Hild. “This updated action plan will reinforce strong action to advance ACF’s ongoing efforts to help prevent violence to Native people by promoting healing from historical trauma and present-day victimization.”
The ACF MMIIP Action Plan, entitled The Culture is Prevention: A Strength Based, Culturally Grounded Journey Toward Prevention, Intervention, And Healing, advances the whole of government commitment to addressing the MMIP crisis through a multipronged approach that includes preventing violence and promoting healing from historical trauma. Most importantly, it adopts responsive administrative processes such as self-governance and Indigenous knowledge, as well ways to leverage ACF’s grant funding, community engagement and rulemaking authority.
“Our traditions inspire healing, and we must work together as sovereigns to recognize this vital truth and mold our systems toward historic resilience,” said ACF Tribal Advisory Council Chair Loni Greninger. “We cannot respond to this crisis as siloed governments. This plan is one step, and we know there are many more steps to be taken. Each step brings new hope for healing and response.”
The phrase “Missing and Murdered Indigenous People” refers to the population that includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and the Indigenous peoples of Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands who have been victims of violence, homicide, human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Over generations of repeated traumatic experiences, Indigenous people have become vulnerable to these forms of violence, their resilience diminished and their health weakened. Preventing that susceptibility and healing from intergenerational trauma are directly associated with long term positive health outcomes.
Through the ACF Native American Affairs Advisory Council, ACF will inquire and make recommendations on four main approaches to curtailing the MMIP crisis: prevention, intervention, healing and response.
- Prevention: Develop an ACF-wide plan to highlight prevention grants and programs that reduce risk factors for victimization of Native Americans and increase protective factors.
- Intervention: The ACF-wide plan will identify community-based strategies that improve cultural connectivity and language preservation, and trauma-informed and victim-centered service delivery to Native Americans, including for survivors of gender-based violence.
- Healing: Build on current strategies to improve mental and behavioral health and supports for Native families, including financial supports and high-quality early childhood programs for victims and survivors with young children.
- Response: Evaluate the effectiveness of technical assistance for tribes to provide community-based conflict resolution, as well as culturally and linguistically appropriate, trauma-informed, and victim-centered strategies, including traditional healing services and make improvements as needed.
“Addressing the MMIP crisis is a priority for me,” said ANA Commissioner Patrice H. Kunesh. “Every Native family has been touched by the pain of MMIP. For generations, Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit individuals have experienced incredibly high rates of violence and trauma caused by the devastating legacy of assimilationist policies of forced removal, boarding schools and systemic oppression. Responding with a sense of urgency is part of our nation-to-nation obligation.”
Please visit the ANA website for more resources and information on MMIP.
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Quick Facts
- The new MMIP action plan, announced by the Administration for Native Americans at ACF, builds on the ACF Tribal Advisory Committee’s earlier work and responds to recent Biden-Harris White House directives and Executive Order 14053, entitled Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People.
- In addition, to reduce factors for victimization, ACF administers the National Human Trafficking Hotline and its referrals to mental health organizations and health care providers with the appropriate expertise to work with human trafficking victims, including those who have cultural competency for working with Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific.
- The ACF MMIIP Action Plan, entitled The Culture is Prevention: A Strength Based, Culturally Grounded Journey Toward Prevention, Intervention, And Healing, advances the whole of government commitment to addressing the MMIP crisis through a multipronged approach that includes preventing violence and promoting healing from historical trauma.
Quotes
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to facing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People head-on. This updated action plan will reinforce strong action to advance ACF’s ongoing efforts to help prevent violence to Native people by promoting healing from historical trauma and present-day victimization.”— ACF Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Hild
“Our traditions inspire healing, and we must work together as sovereigns to recognize this vital truth and mold our systems toward historic resilience. We cannot respond to this crisis as siloed governments. This plan is one step, and we know there are many more steps to be taken. Each step brings new hope for healing and response.”— ACF Tribal Advisory Council Chair Loni Greninger
“Addressing the MMIP crisis is a priority for me. Every Native family has been touched by the pain of MMIP. For generations, Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit individuals have experienced incredibly high rates of violence and trauma caused by the devastating legacy of assimilationist policies of forced removal, boarding schools and systemic oppression. Responding with a sense of urgency is part of our nation-to-nation obligation.”— ANA Commissioner Patrice H. Kunesh
Contact
Administration for Children & Families
Office of Communications
330 C Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: (202) 401-9215
Fax: (202) 205-9688
Email: media@acf.hhs.gov