Fact Sheet
Savanna's Act
Signed into law in October 2020, Public Law No. 116-165, Savanna’s Act, was a bipartisan effort to improve the federal response to missing or murdered Indigenous persons (MMIP), including by increasing coordination among Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies. The bill is named after Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a member of the Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota, who was murdered while she was eight months pregnant in August 2017. She was 22 years old.
The Act aims to improve data collection of missing or murdered Native Americans, clarify the responsibilities of Tribal, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies responding to cases of missing or murdered Native Americans, and empower Tribal governments with resources and information necessary to effectively respond to such cases. The Act also directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing and murdered Native Americans.
