Carmela Roybal
The Native American Budget and Policy Institute (NABPI) at the University of New Mexico has played a critical role in strengthening statewide responses to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) through strategic data collection, harmonization, and analysis. Prior to NABPI’s involvement, data related to MMIWR in New Mexico were fragmented across tribal, state, federal, and community sources, limiting the ability of policymakers to fully understand the scope of the crisis or implement targeted interventions. NABPI addressed this gap by developing a comprehensive, community-informed data framework that aligned diverse datasets while protecting tribal sovereignty and culturally sensitive information. Through rigorous analysis and collaborative validation with tribal nations, NABPI produced a detailed data landscape demonstrating the prevalence, patterns, and systemic drivers of MMIWR cases in New Mexico. These findings provided the evidence base needed by the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department (IAD) to advocate for expanded state engagement and resources. As a result, the State of New Mexico established a 40-member MMIWR Task Force, bringing together tribal leaders, state agencies, community advocates, researchers, and survivors’ families to develop actionable recommendations. By operationalizing data in ways aligned with Indigenous data governance principles, NABPI demonstrated how data can serve as a protective tool—supporting sovereignty, increasing accountability, and guiding effective systems-level solutions. This collaboration stands as a model for how tribally centered data practices can drive policy transformation and advance the safety and wellbeing of Native communities.