The Navajo Nation Council's task force on missing and murdered Diné relatives heard a report in late October on the introduction of federal assistance to the ongoing crisis.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently created five U.S. Assistant Attorney – or AUSA - positions to regionally address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons across the United States including the Navajo Nation. Council delegates say the AUSA will work with federal case agents and local law enforcement. If a case crosses over any region or faces jurisdictional issues, a process is in place for the five AUSA’s to collaborate.
An ASUA has been assigned to the Southwest region and will transition to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office in early 2024. Eliot Neal has worked with the Mescalero Apache Tribe for the last two years as a tribal liaison assisting with missing persons cases. As of October, the DOJ has assigned Neal six unresolved cases from the Navajo Nation, ranging in dates from 1986 to 2021.