News from the Northern Plains

Buffalo's Fire Sections

Murdered & Missing Indigenous Peoples

Reporting on the MMIP crisis, efforts to address it and the stories of those affected.

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Midterm elections

Montana Republican congressional candidate ties Indian Country safety to immigration enforcement

Vying to represent western Montana in the U.S. House, Aaron Flint appeared at a Kalispell rally with President Trump Wednesday

By Bret Anne Serbin

Sing for the Red Dress

Murder mysteries and Indigenous knowledge: The legacy of Sicangu Oglala Lakota author Joseph M. Marshall III

Chana Kaplan, Buffalo's Fire

Tribal leaders call for urgent action on public safety crisis

Buffalo’s Fire built an interactive map to track missing Indigenous people, and we need community help

By Pier Paolo Bozzano

Sing for the Red Dress

Murder mysteries and Indigenous knowledge: The legacy of Sicangu Oglala Lakota author Joseph M. Marshall III

In the last installment of the Smokey River Suspense series, recently deceased author, historian and cultural bearer Joseph M. Marshall III tackled his most challenging mystery: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Chana Kaplan, Buffalo's Fire

Joseph M. Marshall III

Tribal leaders call for urgent action on public safety crisis

Oglala Sioux Tribe president: ‘We need results’

Janie Ducheneaux

Buffalo’s Fire built an interactive map to track missing Indigenous people, and we need community help

Vital information is often buried, hard to find. We’re asking our communities to send us tips and corrections

By Pier Paolo Bozzano

ShineThe Shine series explores limitations and solutions to government transparency in Indian Country.

On the Blackfeet Reservation, families learn to search for their own missing relatives

As Indigenous people go missing and are murdered at disproportionately high rates, families learn forensic skills to find their own loved ones.

Nora Mabie and Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press

Indigenous violence survivors see fewer services after federal cuts

At a Tuesday US House hearing, survey findings linked funding losses to 690 unmet housing requests and 466 other service needs

By Nada Hassanein

On national day of awareness, MMIP crisis takes center stage

Theater campaign involves dozens of Native organizations

LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit MMIP advocates push for inclusion

‘The system often fails our relatives twice: once through violence and again through the paperwork’: Native LGBTQ+ community calls for data sovereignty, gender inclusive language and culturally relevant resources

A year without answers: Renzo Bullhead’s family encourages those with information to come forward

The college student went missing in North Dakota on March 16, 2025

Daughter’s concern for father grows after 11 months without contact

‘I just want to be able to hear my dad’s voice again,’ says Natasha-Marie Powassin

‘Beyond frustrating’: Family claims they weren't properly notified about 16-year-old’s disappearance

Mason Cree’s aunt learns he is missing through social media post

Granddaughter searches for missing grandfather nearly 50 years after disappearance

Francis Houle went missing from the Colorado Springs area in 1979

Samantha Houle

Native community holds MMIP prayer walk in Bismarck

Attendees gather on Valentine’s Day to remember loved ones, call for justice

No body, no crime? How prosecutors prove murder when a victim is missing

While proving a homicide without remains can be a challenge, conviction rates are high

Cadavers help MMIP search volunteers prepare for the worst

A trip to an anatomy lab teaches searchers to distinguish between human and animal remains. It also aims to lessen the shock of potentially gruesome discoveries

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Plea agreement could scrub murder charge in North Dakota MMIP case

Derick Wilkinson is charged with second degree murder for the 2024 death of Alexia De La Cerda

Alexia De La Cerda

Reporters’ Notebook: The year that was

Buffalo’s Fire reporters reflect on their biggest stories of 2025

By Buffalo's Fire

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Runaway children in the Dakotas account for majority of missing Indigenous persons reports

In September, at least 73 Native people were reported missing in North and South Dakota — 65 are children

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Q&A: Kimberly Lining on what it takes to be a volunteer for an MMIP organization

MMIW Search & Hope Alliance coordinator discusses upcoming volunteer training and misconceptions about the role

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MMIP Christmas tree shines brightly at North Dakota State Capitol

The tree features names of missing Indigenous people