In Montana, the FBI and Crow Tribe are working together to offer $10,000 for information in the disappearance of Sa’wade Birdinground, a teenage girl who’s been missing from the Crow reservation for eight months.

YPR’s Jackie Coffin has more from Crow Agency.

For its third consecutive year, the FBI has surged resources to its bureaus that serve Indian Country as part of Operation Not Forgotten, an effort in part to investigate cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

This year’s effort will see increased personnel working out of the Billings, Mont. field office covering the nearby Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribal nations.

For the Crow Tribe, the surge means a flow of badly needed resources to look for missing people including Birdinground, who was last seen by her family in Garryowen on October 6.

Her father Wade Birdinground remembers the last words he heard from her.

“It was a Sunday, I was in Billings, I was out, it was kind of late and she called me to tell me goodnight and I love you, she always checks on me, you know.”

On Friday, FBI agents from the Salt Lake City, Utah bureau, which covers Montana, joined Birdinground’s family, friends, local and tribal leadership, and law enforcement in Crow Agency to announce new resources in the search for Birdinground.

The FBI Special Agent in Charge is Mehtab Syed.

“The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to her recovery”

Crow Tribal Chairman Frank White Clay announced the tribe would match the money.

Together, FBI agents and tribal members carried red balloons on a walk around the Little Big Horn College to honor Birdinground, with her father holding onto hope the reward brings her home.

“I love you, I know you’re out there, I’m not giving up.”

Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. (Courtesy NCAI)

This week, tribal leaders from across the country are gathered on the homeland of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut for the National Congress of American Indian (NCAI) mid-year convention.

Leaders are addressing top issues facing their communities and advancing tribal priorities for NCAI to advocate on their behalf.

Monday’s agenda included discussions about the Indian Health Service, violence against women, and Native education.

Among concerns of attendees are recent actions by the Trump administration including possible funding cuts to federal programs and services for tribes.

Rodney Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, says the NCAI gathering is a place to interact with government officials, fellow tribal leaders, and other stakeholders in Indian Country.

He adds that Indigenous people are resilient and have been through many tough times.

“We are born out of perseverance and we will get beyond these moments, right? That’s the most important thing in sharing that. But also, that recognizing that there are some opportunities even in the clouds that we’re seeing. So, like, the interim Assistant Secretary of Interior will be here, Scott Davis, and he’s going to talk a lot about what tribes can do with this administration and, you know, in advancing sovereignty and growing our tribal economies in other areas where their priorities do overlap. Not perfectly with ours, but there’s certainly opportunity in there. And so that’s a lot of what we’re talking about and just sharing the war stories of ‘how did you navigate this scenario with your grant reductions’ and ‘what’s the best path forward?’ And you see a lot of that. And that’s the beauty of NCAI, broadly speaking, is just being able to share those experiences with sister tribal nations. And we all learn from each other.”

Tuesday’s agenda includes conversations about Native child and family wellbeing, Indigenous determinants of health, and NCAI/Native American Rights Fund priorities.

The NCAI convention and marketplace continues through Wednesday.

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