Alyssa Pitsch
Research Mentor(s): Rebecca Irvine
Mentor Department:
Authors: Alyssa Pitsch, Rebecca Irvine
Session: Session 6 (3:00pm – 3:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 9
Abstract
In response to the higher rates of violence experienced by Indigenous populations in the state of Michigan, Attorney General Nessel has called for the creation of a state task force dedicated to reducing inequalities in the law enforcement process. As this initiative was announced in late 2024, this analysis examines the differing policies that have arisen from previously established state task forces as a means to make policy recommendations that may prove beneficial to the state of Michigan. The state task forces of Arizona, Minnesota, Montana, and Washington were selected due to their sustained existence and breadth of policy suggestions. Similar recommendations were compared in regards to feasibility of implementation and the overall ability to be impactful to the cause. For states in the initial stages of developing task forces, prominent methods focus on securing stable funding to enable continued outreach events. With sufficient funding, the proposals of these differing states sort into two primary means to combat inequality: prevention and improved response. Often, prevention initiatives address systemic forces that, while not unique to Indigenous communities, exacerbate disparities in violence. Therefore, reform has broad benefits that must be tailored when centering Indigenous experiences. Additionally, policy suggestions offered across task forces viewed reform as a comprehensive process including education, healthcare, law enforcement, and environmental regulation. In viewing the success of particular strategies, this study aims to identify and encourage the adoption of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) policies directed towards the reduction of structural violence and the efficiency of involvement for cases involving Indigenous individuals.
