U.S. Attorney Appoints Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinator for Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today the appointment of E. Ingrid Cumberlidge to serve as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Coordinator for the District of Alaska.

As the District of Alaska’s MMIP Coordinator, Ms. Cumberlidge will gather reliable data to identify MMIP cases connected to Alaska; conduct outreach with tribal communities to assist in the creation and implementation of community action plans; coordinate with tribal, local, state, and federal law enforcement in the development of protocols and procedures for responding to and addressing MMIP cases; and promote improved data collection and analyses throughout Alaska.  Working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage, Ms. Cumberlidge will serve tribal communities and victims throughout Alaska.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to improving public safety in rural Alaska, and we are fortunate to have Ms. Cumberlidge join our team in this critical role,” said U.S. Attorney Schroder.  “For far too long, Alaska Natives have experienced disproportionate rates of violence, which has lasting impacts on families and communities.  Ms. Cumberlidge’s expertise will further strengthen our public safety partnerships in rural Alaska, so that we can maximize efforts and develop solutions to address this crisis.”

“The Department of Public Safety is eager to continue our partnership with the DOJ; we are committed to assisting Ms. Cumberlidge with fine-tuning missing persons data and identifying better ways to combat violence against Alaska’s indigenous people through prevention and holding offenders accountable,” said Commissioner Amanda Price, Alaska Department of Public Safety. “Through constructive collaborations between all levels of government, we can break down barriers of distrust, foster positive change, and build a safer Alaska.”

“Working in conjunction with our local, state and federal partners, the FBI is committed to finding ways to better protect the communities we serve,” said Robert Britt, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Anchorage. “It is imperative we work together to make certain all persons responsible for engaging in this type of criminal activity in Alaska are brought to justice. We welcome the appointment of Ms. Cumberlidge and look forward to continued collaboration on the important work of the MMIP initiative.”

Ms. Cumberlidge is an educator and Tribal Leader with over 30 years supporting her native community in Alaska.  Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Cumberlidge served as a Tribal Judge and Chief Judge engaged in various cases including primarily child protection and protective order cases.  As a Tribal Court Judicial Trainer and Advisory Council Member on the National Judicial College Tribal Council, University of Nevada, Reno, Ms. Cumberlidge has trained in the Alaskan Interior with Tanana Chief’s Conference, Southwest Alaska, the Aleutians, the Alaska Bar Association, Rural Cap, and Alaska Intertribal Council.  She also served as a teacher and principal of the Aleutians East Borough School District, and was a tribal appointed regional delegate to the Gov. Knowles State and Tribal Millennium agreement negotiations and ratification.

On Nov. 22, 2019, Attorney General William Barr launched a national strategy to address missing and murdered Native Americans.  As part of this MMIP Initiative, the Department of Justice made an initial investment of $1.5 million to hire MMIP Coordinators to serve with U.S. Attorney’s Offices in 11 states, including Alaska, to develop protocols for a more coordinated law enforcement response to missing cases.  The strategy also calls for the deployment of the FBI’s most advanced response capabilities when needed, improved data collection and analysis, and training to support local response efforts.