Dear Tribal Leader Letter

July 25-26, 2023
Billings Hotel and Convention Center
1223 Mullowney Lane
Billings, MT 59101
Register here if you plan to attend the hearing in person.

In October 2020, the Not Invisible Act of 2019 was signed into law—to increase coordination in identifying and combating violent crime within Indian lands and against Indians—in response to the longstanding crises of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) and human trafficking (HT).

Pursuant to section 4 of the act, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and I established the Not Invisible Act Commission (Commission), which consists of Federal and non-Federal members. More information on the Commission and its members can be found here. The Commission is required, by October 2023, to submit a final report to Congress, the Attorney General, and me with recommendations on how to improve intergovernmental coordination, bolster resources, and establish best practices for State/Tribal/Federal law enforcement to help combat this epidemic of violence.

To help achieve this requirement of section 4, the Commission is holding national hearings to solicit public testimony at multiple locations to shape its final report recommendations on specific MMIP and HT topics. These hearings will provide a forum for law enforcement, subject-matter experts, organizations, State/Tribal task forces, advocates, survivors/families, and other stakeholders to offer testimony directly to the Commission in order to improve cross-jurisdictional communications, increase access to resources, and address other issues related to the MMIP and HT crises.
Please join the next Commission hearings—details are above. Additional dates and locations are here.

Registration and Hearing Information:

Commission members will lead the public hearings to address topics specified under the act and listed above. Each hearing will include open-press segments, as well as closed-press segments that provide privacy to participants without media being present. Trauma-informed support will be available onsite with optional follow-up support, as needed. The Commission’s facilitation team will be present to document all oral testimony. Please note that any information provided during the hearings—including oral testimony and written comments—is considered public record, so please protect nonpublic or sensitive information accordingly. Register here if you plan to attend the hearing in person.

Written Testimony and Questions:

Submit written testimony, recommendations, or questions to the Commission at NIAC@ios.doi.gov. Include the following in the subject line: “NIAC Testimony” or “NIAC Question.”