Indianz.Com > News > Operation Lady Justice comments due by end of week
President Donald Trump displays a signed copy of the executive order establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives at the White House in Washington, D.C, on November 26, 2019. Photo: Joyce N. Boghosian / White House
Operation Lady Justice comments due by end of week
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Indianz.Com

Operation Lady Justice, the Trump administration’s initiative to address missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, is accepting comments through the end of the week.

Comments can be emailed to OperationLadyJustice@usdoj.gov or faxed to (202) 514-7805. They can also be mailed to:

Operation Lady Justice
c/o Executive Director Marcia Good
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 7th Street NW, Room 6336
Washington DC 20531

All comments must be received by October 31, 2020 at 11:59 pm Alaska Daylight Time.

The initiative began last November, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The body consists of officials from the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice and the Department Health and Human Services.

Indianz.Com Video: Operation Lady Justice – February 12, 2020

Operation Lady Justice held its first meeting in January. A public listening session took place in Washington, D.C., in February.

Additional listening sessions in Indian Country were to take place in May and June but COVID-19 forced the Trump administration to go virtual. Four meetings took place via webinar:

• Tribes in BIA’s Eastern Region Webinar – May 27, 2020

• Tribes in BIA’s Southern Plains, Southwest, Western, Rocky Mountain and Eastern Oklahoma Regions Webinar – May 29, 2020

• Tribes in BIA’s Midwest and Great Plains Regions Webinar – June 2, 2020

• Tribes in BIA’s Pacific, Northwestern and Alaska Regions Webinar – June 3, 2020

A series of tribal consultations also went virtual amid the pandemic. A total of 11 meetings were held via webinar in August and September:

• BIA Eastern Region WebEx Virtual Consultation – August 17, 2020

• BIA Midwest Region WebEx Virtual Consultation – August 19, 2020

• BIA Southern Plains and Eastern Oklahoma Regions WebEx Virtual Consultation – August 21, 2020

• BIA Great Plains and Rocky Mountain Regions WebEx Virtual Consultation – August 25, 2020

• BIA Southwest Region WebEx Virtual Consultation – August 27, 2020

• BIA Northwest Region WebEx Virtual Consultation – August 31, 2020

• BIA Western and Navajo Regions WebEx Virtual Consultation – September 2, 2020

• BIA Pacific Region First Session WebEx Virtual Consultation – September 4, 2020

• BIA Alaska Region First Session WebEx Virtual Consultation – September 10, 2020

• BIA Alaska Region Second Session WebEx Virtual Consultation – September 14, 2020

• BIA General Session WebEx Virtual Consultation – September 17, 2020

The executive order establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives requires an initial report to be presented to the White House this November. A second one is due in November 2021.

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