Report on Missing, Murdered Indigenous People Removed From DOJ Website, Senators Demand Answers

By Staff | Cherokee 411

WASHINGTON — A federally mandated report on missing and murdered Indigenous people was quietly removed from the U.S. Department of Justice website nearly 300 days ago, and lawmakers who authored the law that created it say its disappearance undermines critical public-safety work in Indian Country.

The “Not One More” report, required under the bipartisan Not Invisible Act of 2020 and signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term, compiled more than 250 testimonies from tribal leaders, human trafficking survivors, family members and federal officials. It outlined the scope of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis and recommended steps for federal agencies to help tribal nations address the epidemic.

Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, speaks with reporters on Nov. 10, 2025. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

The report was taken down as part of a purge of what the administration described as diversity, equity and inclusion-related materials under an executive order issued in January. A DOJ spokesperson said the agency removed the file to comply with guidance related to the order, titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. The spokesperson noted that some archived content remains online, although the report itself is not included. As of Nov. 13, its original URL still returns a “Page not found” error.

The decision sparked bipartisan frustration on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who introduced the Not Invisible Act and serves on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said she was “astounded” to learn the report had vanished.

“It is astounding that an administration that actually signed these bills into law… thinks that this isn’t an important issue,” she said. “They are ignorant to the trust and treaty obligations we have to our tribal communities.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the committee’s chair, also pressed the administration to restore the document.

“If we don’t know what we don’t know, it’s pretty tough to say it’s a problem,” Murkowski said, adding that the report’s recommendations remain essential for improving coordination between federal, state and tribal law enforcement.

Tribal leaders and advocates share those concerns. Earlier this year, more than a dozen tribal organizations urged federal officials to continue treating tribal nations as sovereign governments—rather than as racial or DEI categories—under federal law. Days later, Cortez Masto’s office discovered that the report had been removed from the DOJ website.

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said the reclassification of tribal nations as DEI-related entities misrepresents their legal and political status.

“Native nations are sovereign,” Smith said. “Treating them as a DEI category is offensive and dangerous. If you want to solve a problem, you first have to see it and understand it.”

The Not One More report called for increased federal support, including directing the U.S. Marshals Service to assist tribal law enforcement, strengthening investigative authority, and improving coordination between the DOJ, Department of the Interior and tribal governments. Cortez Masto recently introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to expand Marshals Service involvement.

Despite the report's removal, Cortez Masto said the work will continue.

“They can try to keep it off the website, but the report’s there,” she said. “The recommendations are there… and we’re still going to move forward to address it.”

The DOJ has not indicated whether it plans to restore the report.