Allies seek action beyond FBI rewards
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The FBI is increasing rewards for information in cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people in North Dakota and nationwide.
Indigenous leaders believe the move can bring much-needed visibility to families whose cases too often go overlooked.
Brandon Baity, executive director of the Indigenous Association in Fargo and a White Earth descendant, said renewed attention and financial rewards can signal the cases matter and potentially generate information to help solve them. Baity stressed Indigenous communities need more than a search party after someone goes missing or is killed.
“We’re left very vulnerable due to a lot of systemic and intergenerational reasons,” Baity said. “The bottom line is addressing some of that vulnerability in our community overall would help us go further up the river, so we’re not always pulling people out of the river, literally and figuratively.”
Of North Dakota's missing population, 40% is Indigenous. As part of the Voices Not Forgotten initiative, FBI officials have set a minimum $25,000 reward for help with cracking dozens of nationwide cases.
Baity believes the level of attention a case receives can come down to whether a victim is viewed as "worthy," raising questions about which lives are deemed deserving of public concern and institutional resources. Factors like addiction or housing instability can lead to victim-blaming, he added, even though every missing person has family, friends and loved ones who want them found.
“They’re still people and they’re still deserving of care and support in our community and from our organizations and our institutions that are here to keep us safe,” Baity said. “I just think we really need to focus more on, why are there so many murdered and missing Indigenous people in our country?”
FBI data show nearly 10,000 American Indian and Alaska Native individuals were reported missing nationwide in 2025. Baity noted informal networks in the Fargo-Moorhead area mobilize and organize searches for local families who are affected but the efforts can be limited by a lack of resources and formal support.
Baity added increased rewards and investigative resources are important but preventing the cases in the first place requires sustained investment in the safety and stability of Indigenous communities.