By Claire Whitcomb
WASHINGTON — A six-month federal surge on unresolved violent crime in Indian Country produced more arrests and charges than last year’s effort, the Justice Department and FBI say. Agents worked more than 500 cases between April and September.
The results of Operation Not Forgotten 2026, now in its fourth year, were announced Oct. 20 and published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The operation prioritizes cases involving violence against women and children, including missing and murdered Indigenous people.
The numbers
From April 1 through Sept. 30, the surge produced 118 arrests, 41 people charged federally, 25 child victims identified or located, and 72 weapons recovered, according to the announcement. Agents conducted 990 interviews and 232 search operations.
Arrests rose 123% over the 2025 operation. Federal charges rose 52% and the caseload rose 59%.
“The Department of Justice will always work to deliver justice for the victims of violent crime in Indian country,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, our U.S. Attorneys, and other federal and tribal partners, Operation Not Forgotten and Operation Steadfast Promise are helping make communities safer and providing comfort for victims and families.”
FBI Director Kash Patel called it the bureau’s largest commitment to Indian Country in its history. “Operation Not Forgotten sends a loud and clear message that our long-forgotten partners in Indian Country are forgotten no more,” Mr. Patel said.
He pointed to the FBI’s 400 agents dedicated to Indian Country, its 30 Safe Trails Task Forces, and its Voices Not Forgotten program. Under that program, the bureau set a minimum reward of up to $25,000 for information in publicly advertised homicide, kidnapping and missing-person cases in Indian Country where it has jurisdiction.
“Through close collaboration across the federal government and in partnership with tribal, state, and local law enforcement, we are bringing additional resources and investigative support to Indian Country to address violent crime, advance unresolved cases, and help families find answers,” said Billy Kirkland, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for Indian Affairs.
Cases behind the totals
The department highlighted several prosecutions brought during the surge. In Wyoming, 18 people were federally indicted for violent crimes and child abuse offenses on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
In Nevada, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment in July. It charges a man with the February 2022 murder of Anna Scott, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, on the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.
In Montana, a man was charged in the death of Shann Nomee. She went missing during an extreme cold snap in January 2024, and her body was found in a field north of Lodge Grass after a community-led search. That case is pending trial.
The surge sits alongside a broader effort, Operation Steadfast Promise. Since that operation began in April, the FBI has opened more than 1,200 new Indian Country investigations, charged 678 people, made more than 700 arrests and recovered 2,260 weapons, the announcement said. The bureau still has more than 4,000 open investigations in Indian Country.
Where the agents went
The FBI rotated personnel through 12 field offices: Albuquerque, Billings, Detroit, Denver, Jackson, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Portland, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.
None is in New York. The announcement did not explain how offices were chosen, but jurisdiction differs in this state. On most reservations in the West, major crimes fall under federal jurisdiction. In New York, a 1948 federal law, 25 U.S.C. § 232, gives the state criminal jurisdiction over offenses on reservations. That means violent crime on the Seneca, Tonawanda Seneca and Tuscarora territories in Western New York is generally handled by state and local agencies and tribal police, not through the federal model the surge reinforces.
The FBI encourages anyone with information about unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country to contact a local field office or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov. Its Indian Country crime page links to the Voices Not Forgotten map of cases where agents are seeking information.
The Buffalo Chronicle has asked the Justice Department and the FBI for comment on whether a future surge could include Northeastern field offices.
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