[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6559171,"mediaKeyId","3217697-d3edf7ba2ce81a5c61812b44daadd333","parentId",3217697,"title","Assembly hearing spotlights missing and murdered Indigenous people; tribes and law enforcement call for funding, training and better coordination","audioSeconds",12858,"startMs",0,"endMs",12858000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3217697-d3edf7ba2ce81a5c61812b44daadd333&start=0&end=12858","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3217697-d3edf7ba2ce81a5c61812b44daadd333/thumbnail_0.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6559171/California/Assembly-hearing-spotlights-missing-and-murdered-Indigenous-people-tribes-and-law-enforcement-call-for-funding-training-and-better-coordination","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6559171-7ea856ffbdc165987655cb71c11f6bbe/orig.mp4?Expires=1770840438&Signature=IJgp35r19a63IQF~vQGqCKrcfnMtM5s3RO6gcvpVHAgPuKYx1nxF~JYQhtaoOofzOD1lT46ki5vhZEMDkdJevHOfO5-hfGLc7H-TXlu1xKbaZPLfhpx96XhuktEWrfzWDYMw5B-Xuy9WsiOfXRC2O45foyRqXdMZhwtdz-F8I14g5VvVsik3MtGrdafc2WplQfLL53KAjsr3XixvCf7eb7Iz7IVS2feGLxEtE1uaeIkjj7itAdCdaYO76HAtEvkvARx5mQxcn2KWgqS0B1VOFnhlTetKDysrdQclQqxQN-2NTSZWvGAtaJRfoDrOruh3QHbJ~E~d8PkiNQwf2byRGg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","House","date","2025-05-07T00:00:00Z","article","Tribal leaders, researchers and state and county law enforcement told the California State Assembly Select Committee on Native American Affairs that the state must act to address a longstanding crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people that they said is magnified by an underfunded legal framework and inconsistent local responses.

Cheyenne Stone, chairperson of the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley, said historical violence remains current: \"They shape the lived experience of Native American communities today,\" she said, describing forced removals and recent discoveries of human remains found during highway work in Owens Valley.

The committee heard recurring themes: calls for mandated and culturally informed law‑enforcement training, quicker and clearer use of the Feather Alert system, better data collection, sustained funding for tribal victim services, and improved government‑to‑government consultation. \"If you live on a reservation that should not keep us from responding the same way we would if it was a child in our neighborhood,\" Assemblymember Sharon Quirk Silva said.

Panelists described jurisdictional and capacity gaps rooted in Public Law 280, the 1953 federal law that shifted criminal jurisdiction in some states, including California. Professor Carol Goldberg, who has researched Public Law 280 for decades, told the committee that the law \"left states like California ... no funds to carry [jurisdiction] out,\" creating persistent under‑resourcing and uneven responses across counties.

Speakers also highlighted operational failures. Chairperson Charles Martin of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians pointed to the recent death of a tribal citizen, Amy Porter, and said, \"The Feather Alert process failed Amy Porter and her family,\" noting the alert was not issued promptly.

State officials described steps already under way. Isaac Pohorkis, acting director of the Office of Native American Affairs in the California Department of Justice, said the office is developing regionally tailored response planning and training with the state attorney general’s advisory council on Public Law 280. \"The California Department of Justice is committed to bringing public safety ... to specifically the Indian country,\" he said.

Law enforcement leaders said practical barriers — understaffed crime labs, uneven local procedures and limited tribal police capacity — hinder investigations. Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said counties vary widely in how they implement responses and that familial DNA testing has solved some cold cases but that testing capacity is limited.

Advocates and service providers urged investment in culturally grounded survivor services, remote advocacy and coordinated local‑to‑state data systems. Samantha Thornsberry, program director for the Cahuilla Consortium Victim Advocacy Program, described a state‑funded web hub and outreach effort intended to centralize resources and improve rapid local responses.

The hearing did not produce a formal vote or legislative action. Committee members said they will continue follow‑up work on funding, training standards, data collection and Feather Alert improvements and expect further briefings from the attorney general’s office and county law enforcement.

The testimony combined historical context, recent case examples and immediate operational priorities — a blend of reforms that panelists said will require legislative budgets, state agency action and sustained, government‑to‑government work with tribes.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Assembly Select Committee on Native American Affairs","oneSentenceSummary","Tribal leaders, researchers and law enforcement told a California State Assembly Select Committee hearing that decades of under‑resourcing, jurisdictional confusion and failures in the Feather Alert system have worsened the state’s crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people and require immediate state action.","taxTitle","California State Assembly, House, Legislative, California","taxId",17099,"location","California","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6559162,"Justice officials and advocates describe state training, data and survivor‑service efforts and gaps",179,1111000,1290000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3217697-d3edf7ba2ce81a5c61812b44daadd333&start=1111&end=1290","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3217697-d3edf7ba2ce81a5c61812b44daadd333/thumbnail_1111000.jpg","/articles/6559162/California/Justice-officials-and-advocates-describe-state-training-data-and-survivorservice-efforts-and-gaps","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6559162-d752cf34edd91e1b0b8f7c382f249a46/orig.mp4?Expires=1770840438&Signature=cSemaNeaQd62wqOZl~Jm3SCavIbeND9itW-~ezhKlZBlAggjEiortz6o2RMFKREtfjFQ8okZwrd5i38M4P9b-koO~0M32RBpxV3MpV3IH~M98y5mSycMC1A907SST-KjhPlt2dx9m95gMy7-lb7Alt67NytjTwc1d6ILb3G51KvwxPH013z8q3hfiFjd67zfDJOgw66t4Q4dPoVZQnBjN7dibkXlUXEmtMkYm9yalelkKtARlmJKKUwV-ZYMNl7huyaer~3jW-2e~ui7e5-~g73k77M2iwqKXuSgXZu~IhjalWTC0jkF5qTo6yeiwt6nKAWkVpcAfPgRoFLKyRZZZw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","State officials and county law enforcement described incremental work and lingering gaps in California’s response to missing and murdered Indigenous people, emphasizing training, data systems and survivor services.

Isaac Pohorkis, acting director of the Office of Native American Affairs at the California Department of Justice, summarized agency steps: regional Missing in California Indian Country (MICIC) planning, a \"Native American Marcy’s Law card\" project, and work with the attorney general’s PL 280 advisory council to develop post‑academy training for officers.

Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal described persistent operational challenges: limited DNA testing capacity at the state crime lab and uneven county procedures. He said familial DNA testing has helped solve cold cases but often requires costly outside lab work; he told the committee his office sometimes pays about $10,000 per test to private labs.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus urged practical coordination with tribes and service providers. \"Law enforcement needs their help,\" Dicus said, arguing for 24/7 access to victim services and rapid‑response partners rather than expecting law enforcement to shoulder all aftercare responsibilities.

On survivor services, Samantha Thornsberry described Cahuilla Consortium’s state‑funded MMIP cohort work: hiring advocates and outreach staff, building a statewide web hub to centralize tribal resources, and using remote‑advocacy models (hotel placements, remote counseling) to reach survivors across large territories.

Advocates and sheriffs urged specific investments: more funding for tribal police training and POST accreditation, expanded forensic and DNA testing at state labs, clearer Feather Alert protocols and permanent funding for tribal victim services. Committee members and panelists described pending and proposed bills addressing tribal police status, child‑welfare prevention and coordinated law‑enforcement responses; they asked for follow‑up briefings and budget proposals to operationalize the priorities discussed.","California Department of Justice officials, county sheriffs and advocacy groups described new training, a pilot for expanded tribal officer status, a state MMIP cohort grant and local victim‑service work, while urging more funding for crime labs, DNA testing and sustained survivor services.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6559167,"Experts tell Assembly Public Law 280 and under‑resourcing drive MMIP response gaps",123,540000,663000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3217697-d3edf7ba2ce81a5c61812b44daadd333&start=540&end=663","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3217697-d3edf7ba2ce81a5c61812b44daadd333/thumbnail_540000.jpg","/articles/6559167/California/Experts-tell-Assembly-Public-Law-280-and-underresourcing-drive-MMIP-response-gaps","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6559167-f0260e60d1376887da5eb65931f8e231/orig.mp4?Expires=1770840438&Signature=IYus0tGEDLe-7CI~pyMuuuvZ09d8UXSNXX7XUHrgjSz8hqRen6bye-Vd-McOTQlybssLiiXeLPsdzPU2UhOGfd428HXHaatpWXN-TBGBTAKINGZJ6stuF7BdRf6w7EmDd1oN5uWIxd25bNbQgE30ymMHwaajo-OPXKqANtiCiladHB86nSg8K6Lbu1ZHywdv2SWdmCwNGNnXEwsNneWTqIXOdlsFspfWc36QRdV~XJHPgSBw50oPwLA1Zq3XBrQHIW0o1qCA-90JWAss2aq9O6cHG0yVkZEDZSBP~J3YpdXfZgDIY~wSEJMTTb6WYWU1Fh62DjZYxy2DNlVjhFan1w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Public Law 280 — the federal statute that gave certain states criminal jurisdiction in Indian country — was a recurring focus at the Select Committee hearing, with witnesses saying the law’s practical effects have worsened investigations of missing and murdered Indigenous people.

\"Public Law 280 makes the problem of missing and murdered indigenous persons more difficult to address for several reasons,\" said Carol Goldberg, a UCLA law professor who has researched PL 280 for more than five decades. She told the committee the law \"left states like California ... no funds to carry it out,\" creating a funding vacuum for tribal policing and justice systems.

Morning Star Gali, a Pit River descendant and advocate, said the jurisdictional gaps create a \"legal vacuum\" that traffickers and violent offenders exploit and that survivors frequently face agency hopping: being \"bounced from agency to agency while perpetrators continuously walk free.\"

Speakers proposed several remedies that stop short of wholesale federal change: mandated cultural competency and PL 280 training for county and state officers, formal cross‑deputization agreements, state incentives for tribal‑state policing compacts and—where tribes request it—federal retrocession of jurisdiction to tribes. Goldberg noted Washington state legislation that ties retrocession offers to tribal requests as a model.

Tribal leaders said under‑resourcing is not hypothetical. Chairperson Cheyenne Stone described archaeological and forensic findings from construction projects in Owens Valley and linked the ongoing harms to insufficient state and county processes for discovered remains and consultations.

Advocates asked the Legislature and state agencies to use budget authority to close practical gaps in the near term: fund tribal public‑safety capacity, prioritize DNA and forensic lab resources, and require post‑certified trainings that include tribal consultation and culturally informed investigative practices. No formal policy change was adopted at the hearing; committee members asked the attorney general’s advisory council on PL 280 to continue work on training and implementation recommendations.","Legal scholars, tribal leaders and advocates told the Select Committee that Public Law 280’s transfer of jurisdiction without funds has left California tribes under‑resourced, reduced trust in state actors and made investigations harder, and they proposed training, cross‑deputization and retrocession as partial remedies.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Assembly hearing spotlights missing and murdered Indigenous people; tribes and law enforcement call for funding, training and better coordination

Justice officials and advocates describe state training, data and survivor‑service efforts and gaps

Experts tell Assembly Public Law 280 and under‑resourcing drive MMIP response gaps