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Inside the FBI highlights news, cases, and people from around the Bureau—in audio form. For more information, visit fbi.gov.
[The episode opens with an intense-feeling musical track, seemingly led by piano or keys.]
Narrator: Operation Not Forgotten began in 2023 as an FBI initiative to surge investigative, intelligence, and victim services support to FBI offices located in Indian Country. Participating personnel surged to these offices to assist with unresolved violent crime cases, with a priority placed on cases involving violence against women and children.
The initiative has since expanded to include our partners at the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Office of Justice Services.
On this episode of our podcast, we’ll learn about this year’s iteration of the initiative and connect you with more resources about our efforts to investigate violent crimes and other federal offenses committed in Indian Country. This episode of our show is part of "Your FBI: Crushing Violent Crime," a campaign highlighting the people, partners, and mission of Your FBI and our ongoing work to dismantle violent crime and keep our communities safe.
This is Inside the FBI.
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Narrator: On reservations across the U.S., Tribal law enforcement regularly handles matters related to tribal codes and regulations.
For cases related to major crimes—like homicides, kidnappings, and sexual assaults—a special jurisdiction allows the FBI to work alongside Tribal police and other law enforcement agencies.
This special jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed on about 200 reservations nationwide comes primarily from two federal laws: the General Crimes Act and the Major Crimes Act. However, other federal laws provide further direction.
Crime committed in Indian Country must meet three conditions for the FBI to investigate it:
First, the alleged criminal act must fall within the FBI’s jurisdiction. This means it either has to be a federal crime or a non-federal crime that the FBI has special authority to investigate when that crime occurs on a reservation.
Second, the alleged crime must have occurred on a reservation where the FBI has jurisdiction.
Third, the alleged perpetrator, victim, or both must be an American Indian or Alaska Native.
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Narrator: Along with our broader violent crime mission, Operation Not Forgotten, or ONF for short, emphasizes the FBI’s continued dedication to addressing violence impacting Indian Country, including missing or murdered Indigenous persons. The FBI is committed to maintaining close collaboration with federal, state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies, Tribal governments, and community members to build safer communities and protect the rights of all people.
According to Darren Cox, a former deputy assistant director of the Bureau’s Criminal Investigative Division who now leads the Bureau’s Washington Field Office, this year’s iteration of ONF was...
Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) Darren Cox: ...longer than it’s ever been.
Narrator: This year, 58 Special Agents and six intelligence personnel deployed to support field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Mississippi; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. We deployed these personnel to work a backlog of cases or cases that may require, because of the complexity to them, additional resources. The FBI worked in partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions.
This year, the operation was extended from three-to-four months in length to six months overall.
ADIC Cox: Historically, we've deployed agents for a few months for 60- or 90- day temporary assignments. And so, for Operation Not Forgotten this year, it is the most intensive deployment that we've had to date.
We’ve worked on over 600 investigations just as part of Operation Not Forgotten and so it is very impactful. Director Patel has committed to providing additional resources to Tribal lands and Tribal communities, and this speaks volumes as to the resources that we’ve provided on Operation Not Forgotten.
The FBI has jurisdiction, and in a lot of cases, the only jurisdictions besides BIA—the Bureau of Indian Affairs—on the reservations. And so, we want to make sure that we are providing justice to the victims and to the community on Tribal land, just like we would any other city across the United States.
And that's the commitment from the FBI: to make sure that we are providing that justice.
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Narrator: You can visit fbi.gov/indiancountry to learn more about the Bureau’s footprint in Indian Country and our dedication to protecting and serving Tribal communities.
You can also visit fbi.gov/notforgotten to learn how ONF, in particular, has evolved since 2023.
Additionally, you can check out fbi.gov/mmip to read more about our commitment to seeking justice for missing or murdered Indigenous persons.
And you can visit fbi.gov/news to discover additional stories, podcasts, videos, and blog posts about the Bureau's efforts to combat violent crime and protect the American people.
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Narrator: This has been another production of Inside the FBI.
You can follow us on your favorite podcast player, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. You can also listen to our show via the myFBI Dashboard app. Learn more at fbi.gov/dashboardapp.
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On behalf of the FBI's Office of Public Affairs, thanks for tuning in.
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