North Dakota Legislature approves creation of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People task force

The North Dakota Legislature advanced a bill on April 7 to create a state-funded task force to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis. House Bill 1199 will bring together representatives from several state and tribal agencies, including the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Spirit Lake Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Nation. The task force will manage $250,000 to improve data collection and establish a "Feather Alert" system for missing Indigenous persons.