ST. PAUL — The Office of Justice Programs is pleased to announce that Ana Negrete has agreed to serve as the interim director for the Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR). 

Interim Director Negrete comes to the department with more than 25 years of experience in Juvenile Justice and has a strong background addressing human trafficking and exploitation.  

For two years, Interim Director Negrete served as the community planner for the MMIR Office where she was responsible for collaborating with state agencies to address the risk factors that contribute to MMIR vulnerability. As the office’s first hire, she worked closely with affected families across the state to help coordinate searches, access services, and navigate law enforcement and justice systems. 

In 2021, Gov. Tim Walz​​ signed into law the legislation that established the first-in-the-nation MMIR Office in response to the over-representation of Indigenous people in the state's murdered and missing statistics.

Although Indigenous women and girls make up just one percent of the state's population, from 2010 through 2018, eight percent of all murdered women and girls in Minnesota were Indigenous.

“Ana has a well-deserved reputation for serving and supporting MMIR families and sees how things can be done, rather than why they can't be done,” said Juliet Rudie, director of the Office of Tribal Relations.

Interim Director Negrete is connected with the Otomi tribe of Central Mexico and her Hunka (adopted) family, the Black Horse Camp of the Prairie Island Indian Community.  She is also a mother to Ho-Chunk children. 

For more information, visit the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Relatives Office.