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WEBVTT MONTANA STATE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IN 2017, 22 NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN WENT MISSIN NATIVE WOMEN MAKE UP 30% OF ALL MISSING WOMEN IN THE STATE, EV THOUGH THEY ONLY ACCOUNT FOR 3% OF THE POPULATION. THOSE STATISTICS HAVE PROMPTED SENATOR JON TESTER TO TAKE ACTION IN CONGRESS, NOT JUST FOR THE WOMEN IN HIS STATE, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SENATOR, IT’S NICE TO HAVE YOU WITH US. SENATOR TESTER: IT’S GREAT TO BE SOLEDAD: WHEN YOU HEARD OVER THE SUMMER THAT NEARLY TWO DOZEN NATIVE WOMEN HAD GONE MISSING AND ONLY ONE WAS ACTUALLY FOUND, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THOSE STATISTICS? SENATOR TESTER: WELL, I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. THE TRUTH IS THAT WHENEVER YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF A SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE ARE MURDERED OR MISSING, THOSE KIND OF NUMBERS AND ONLY ONE PERSON HAS BEEN FOUND, YOU’VE GOT A PROBLEM. AND SO, WE WENT TO WORK AND ASKED THE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE TO HAVE A HEARING FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS. NUMBER ONE, TO FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE FBI AND THE BIA AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, AND FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON ON THE GROUND AND REALLY ALSO RAISING AWARENESS. SOLEDAD: WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS? I MEAN, IS IT LAW ENFORCEMENT DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY? IS IT THIS COMMUNITY IS ACTUALLY BEING TARGETED BY SEX TRAFFICKERS OR OTHER PEOPLE WHO KNOW MAYBE LAW ENFORCEMENT IS NOT CLOSELY WATCHING THE COMMUNITY? WHAT DO YOU THINK THE PROBLEM IS? SENATOR TESTER: MY HUNCH IS LOT OF THESE TRIBES, A LOT OF THESE RESERVATIONS ARE LARGE LAND-BASED TRIBES. THE RESERVATIONS ARE LARGER THAN A LOT OF THE STATES IN THE EASTERN SEABOARD. YOU’VE GOT A LOT OF SQUARE MILES. I’VE GOT A NOTION THEY DON’T HAVE ENOUGH POLICE TO TAKE CARE OF IT. AND THEN YOU PUT ON TOP OF THAT, IN CASE OF A MISSING OR MURDERED PERSON. THEN YOU’VE GOT THE FBI INVOLVED IN INDIAN COUNTRY AND DO WE HAVE WITHIN THE FBI TO BE ABLE TO DO THE RESOURCES WITHIN THE FBI TO BE ABLE TO DO THEIR INVESTIGATION. THEN ONCE YOU GET TO A POINT WHERE YOU FOUND WHO THE PERPETRATORS ARE DOES THE , DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT INFORMATION -- IS IT GOOD ENOUGH INFORMATION? SOLEDAD: SOUNDS LIKE MULTIFACTORIAL ON ALL LEADING UP TO THE NEXT PROBLEM. SENATOR TESTER: EXACTLY CORRECT. AND THEN YOU COMBINE THAT AND I’M JUST TALKING ABOUT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THERE WITH THE CIA -- BIA AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND FBI. NOW YOU HAVE THE LOCAL FOLKS AND WHAT ROLE CAN THOSE LOCAL FOLKS HAVE WHAT ROLE DO THEY HAVE NOW AS FAR AS FINDING OUT WHY THIS IS OCCURRING? YOU KNOW, THERE’S POVERTY IN INDIAN COUNTRY. UNLESS YOU’RE A GAMING TRIBE, THERE’S PROBABLY RAMPANT POVERTY IN THE RESERVATION THAT’S THE WAY IT IS MOSTLY IN MONTANA. AND I THINK WITH A LOT OF THE TRIBES THAT ARE LARGE LAND-BASED TRIBES. SOLEDAD: BUT SOME OF THESE STATISTICS. NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN AND GIRLS IN MONTANA FACE A MURDER RATE THAT IS 10 TIMES HIGHER THAN T NATIONAL AVERAGE. IS IT CORRELATED TO SEX TRAFFICKING, AS SOME PEOPLE HAVE SA SENATOR TESTER: I THINK IT COULD BE. AND LOOK, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE LAW ENFORCEMENT THE BAD GUYS KNOW , THAT AND THEY KNOW WHERE TO GO. WHETHER IT’S PEDDLING DRUGS OR TRAFFICKING PEOPLE, THEY KNOW AND THEY WILL GO THERE AND THEY’LL TRY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A COMMUNITY. AND LOOK, I DON’T MEAN TO PAINT INDIAN COUNTRY AS A BAD PLACE. THESE ARE GREAT PEOPLE. THESE COMMUNITIES ARE SOLI COMMUNITIES. IT’S JUST THAT WE’VE GOT A PROBLEM, MISSION CONTROL, AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP THIS PROBLEM OF MISSING AND MURDERED FOLKS, PARTICULARLY INDIGENOUS WOMEN. SOLEDAD: SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE THE DATA IS NOT REALLY EVEN KEPT OR WELL KEPT. THERE ARE TWO RESEARCHERS, ABIGAIL ECHO HAWK, ANITA LUCCISI. THEY ASKED 71 CITIES FOR DATA, JUST TRYING TO COLLECT DAT 60% OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS EITHER IGNORED THEIR REQUESTS OR THE DATA THEY HAD WASN’T EVEN COMPLETE, DATA WHICH DOESN’T REALLY LEAD YOU TO HAVE TREMENDOUS CONFIDENCE THAT THERE’S TONS OF DATA. IT’S JUST NOT BEING SHARED. IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE’S NOT EVEN GOOD DATA. SENATOR TESTER: THAT’S CORRECT. I THINK THOSE LADIES ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. I JUST THINK THE DATA IS NOT BEING COLLECTED. WE’VE GOT TO BUILD IT TO COLLECT THAT DATA. TO REQUIRE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT TO DO THAT. AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE A HELP TO GO FORTH. LOOK, THERE’S A LOT OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS OUT THERE. I’VE GOT A HUNCH IT’S DRIVEN BY POVERTY. A LACK OF MANPOWER. I’VE GOT A HUNCH IS DRIVEN BY FOLKS NOT WORKING TOGETHER INSIDE THE RESERVATION, OUTSIDE THE RESERVATION. BUT WE’LL FIND OUT FOR SURE, AND I THINK THIS HEARING WILL