Government-Politics
HELENA — Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued the following statement in observance of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day:
“Montana's tribal communities are suffering from immense tragedy brought on by the missing and murdered Indigenous persons crisis. I saw it firsthand when I prosecuted in Roosevelt County, and I've seen it now as Attorney General. At the Montana Department of Justice, we will not waver in our commitment to find those who are missing and bring them home,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “I encourage every Montanan to join us in our fight to stop these crimes from going unanswered. Please visit our missing persons database at dojmt.gov to familiarize yourself with those missing. This is a crisis that cannot be ignored.”
During the 2025 Legislative Session, the Legislature passed House Bill 545, eventually signed into law by Governor Gianforte, providing the Montana Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Advisory Council (MMIPAC). MMIPAC is administered by the Montana Department of Justice (MTDOJ), with a special revenue account to allow the group to receive donations from any legal source. This will enable them to fund projects to help end the crisis. Subsequently, the MMIPAC sponsored a specialty license plate, which is currently available for purchase by Montanans to fund those projects. House Bill 545 was also sponsored by state representative Tyson Running Wolf and supported by Attorney General Knudsen.
Last year, 619 Indigenous persons were reported missing in Montana. According to the missing persons database, as of May 5th, 42 Indigenous persons are currently missing in Montana—fourteen of which have been missing for less than a year. Twenty-eight other individuals have been missing more than a year.
To combat the issue, the Montana Department of Justice, under the direction of Attorney General Knudsen, launched an improved missing persons database to provide information to the public on missing persons, including Indigenous persons, reported by local law enforcement. View the database at https://app.dojmt.gov/apps/missingPersonDatabase/