The Federal Bureau of Investigation has increased the minimum award for unsolved cases in Indian Country, opening the door to potential new leads in dozens of unsolved cases.
The minimum reward is set at $25,000, affecting more than 50 unsolved murders and missing persons cases, including a dozen that have remained a mystery for decades, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Indigenous communities have continued to raise the alarm about disproportionate violence, disappearances and murders among indigenous women and girls.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the decision to increase awards last week following the National Law Enforcement Partner Conference, which was attended by more than 200 tribal partners.
The initiative, titled Voices Not Forgotten, will impact a number of high-profile businesses including Angel Beach, Sa’wade Birdinground, Maleeka ‘Mollie’ BooneLogan Warrior Goings, Mary Johnson (Davis) and Emily Pike.
Beach’s reward was previously set at $10,000. The then 25-year-old was shot on the Muscogee Creek Reservation in Tulsa, Oklahomaon October 19, 2020.
She was walking through a laundromat parking lot while arguing with a friend when an unknown black man intervened and shot her.
Beach died the next day from a gunshot wound and her killer was never found.
The FBI has announced a new minimum reward of $25,000 for dozens of unsolved cases involving Native Americans, following renewed calls for investigations. Above, demonstrators are seen taking part in a national awareness day for missing and murdered indigenous people
One of the affected cases is that of Emily Pike. She was found dead after disappearing from her group home in Arizona last year. A wake for her is pictured above
The case of Maleeka ‘Mollie’ Boone has also been highlighted. She was reported missing in January and found dead the next morning at the age of eight
Birdinground’s reward has also increased by $10,000 as a result of Voices Not Forgotten.
She was last seen on October 6, 2024, at her family home in Montana, on the Crow Indian Reservation. Birdingground has not been seen since. She is 15 years old.
Boone, 8, was reported missing on January 15, 2026 from her neighborhood in Arizona’s Navajo Nation.
She left a relative’s house to walk to another relative’s house nearby, but never made it. The eight-year-old was found dead in a field the next morning.
Warrior Goings, 6, was shot on May 5, 2022, when bullets rang out outside his home. His killer was never found and the FBI has now offered $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
“The person who did this has been living with the fact that he killed a six-year-old child for four years,” FBI Special Agent Matthew Vogel said earlier this year, on what would have been the child’s 10th birthday.
Johnson, 39, disappeared while walking through Washington’s Tulalip Reservation on Thanksgiving 2020.
It was only in June last year that her remains were discovered in a remote area, and no arrests were made in connection with her death. The FBI is now also offering $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
The FBI has highlighted six high-profile cases, shown above, that received higher rewards
Emily Pike’s uncle, Allred, is pictured above at a memorial to her on the reservation
Pike’s case made national headlines and renewed calls for greater attention to cases involving Native American women and girls
Pike’s case made national headlines last year when she disappeared from her group home in Arizona and was found dismembered in a wooded area.
The FBI is now offering $75,000 to anyone who provides verifiable information about the identities of those responsible for the child’s horrific death.
Despite the resurgence of dozens of cold cases, some affected family members have expressed concern that the increased reward will not succeed.
The family of Patrick Carlow Sr, who was found suspiciously dead in his South Dakota home in 2023, has noted that the $25,000 reward does not ease fears about reporting information to authorities.
JoDee Carlow, Carlow’s daughter, told the Associated Press that fear of law enforcement is “deep-rooted” within the Indigenous community.
“It’s not just on Pine Ridge. It’s on every reservation,” she added.
Her sister Lisa added that the higher pay made her worried. “So for me it’s like, OK, what do you guys know that you’re not saying?”
“It’s so hard to get so hopeful and think, ‘This is it, we finally caught Dad’s killer. And then nothing comes of it,'” she added.
Sa’wade Birdinground was last seen on October 6, 2024, at her family home in Montana, on the Crow Indian Reservation. Officers announcing an initial reward for information in the case are pictured above
An AP analysis found that more than 50 unsolved murders and missing persons cases are affected by the new minimum wage
Luana Ross, co-director of the Native Voices program at the University of Washington, expressed a similar sentiment that the increased rewards may never materialize.
“I believe that people in reservation communities would be extremely reluctant to turn a friend or family member into a criminal justice system that has not served them well,” she said.
Voices Not Forgotten is another step in the long road of establishing intergovernmental coordination among state, tribal, and federal law enforcement.
The new initiative follows a 2020 law, the Not Invisible Act, which created a commission to study how to better serve Indigenous communities.
The recommendations include expanding tribal law enforcement authority and improving communication with victims’ families.
Relatives of Patrick Carlow Sr, pictured above, have expressed concern that the increased awards will not lead to a breakthrough in his case. He was found dead in his South Dakota home in 2023
The Justice Department has also deployed dozens of FBI agents and staff to field offices near tribal areas.
The FBI said in May that the influx of resources under Operation Not Forgotten has resulted in more than 200 arrests and convictions.
However, some have noted that the FBI’s footprint in Indian country can be an obstacle, as agents often lack experience in tribal communities.
“More FBI manpower on reservations, in my opinion, that’s not a good solution,” Michael Henderson, public safety director for the Navajo Nation, told the Associated Press in May.
These steps toward justice have raised awareness of issues involving Native Americans.
On May 5, Indigenous people gathered across the country for National Day of Awareness for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Movement.
