Navajo Nation Struggles to Fund Medical Examiner as MMIP Investigations Stall

Navajo Nation Law Enforcement Forced to Handle Deaths Without Proper Medical Examiner

PHOENIX — Criminal investigators on the Navajo Nation are being forced to wear two hats, handling both homicide investigations and death certification duties, because the tribe lacks an on-site medical examiner. The shortage is slowing down missing and murdered Indigenous person cases and leaving families waiting for answers.

On March 16, the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations presented updates to the Navajo Nation Law and Order Committee, highlighting funding challenges that are stalling investigations.

A DNA program funded through a U.S. Department of Justice grant helped identify 15 missing and unidentified people from the nation. Yet many investigations remain stalled due to the lack of a medical examiner and on-site crime lab.

In 2018, a Navajo Nation resolution established a Department of Medical Examiners that would investigate all deaths occurring under suspicious circumstances. However, the position has never been filled.

Eugenia Charles-Newton, chairwoman of the nation's Law and Order Committee, told Cronkite News that the Navajo Nation does not have enough funding to pay an adequate wage for a medical examiner. Instead, the nation outsources the service to the Coconino County Health and Human Services Medical Examiners Office in Flagstaff.

The committee wants to establish a 638 contract with the Indian Health Service, which would fund the medical examiner position. A 638 contract is an agreement authorized under the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975. It allows tribes to take over certain federally funded programs and operate them themselves.

The Indian Health Service has reported that a medical examiner is unnecessary based on low in-facility death counts. The Law and Order Committee disputes that claim, saying those figures exclude homicides and deaths outside hospitals.

IHS did not respond to a Cronkite News request for comments and referred back to the Department of the Medical Examiner, within the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.

Charles-Newton said the situation has put a strain on criminal investigators who now have to handle both crime scenes and death investigations.

When people go missing, instead of their focus being on the people going missing, their priority becomes having to respond to death investigations, Charles-Newton said.

Dale West, the criminal investigation supervisor at the Shiprock, New Mexico branch of the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations, verified that investigators have had to assume two roles: investigating homicides and certifying cause of deaths.

Traditionally, when an investigator is at the scene of a crime involving a death, they determine what happened and establish any potential perpetrators. Medical examiners are responsible for calculating the cause of death and executing a death certificate.

Weve had to balance the training of that with our major crimes, and its been a real struggle for us over the years, West said. That duty needs to be separated.

West said he has been trying to bring staffing issues to the attention of federal entities such as the Indian Health Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Congress for years. Only three of the eight needed positions in the Shiprock office are filled, on top of the medical examiner duties.

He said more Bureau of Indian Affairs money is necessary to fill the other five positions. The Bureau did not respond to Cronkite News request for comment.

West said a lack of proper staffing has hugely affected efficiency when investigating MMIP cases.

People are going to be working as hard as they can and to the best of their ability, but there is no way to be able to help everybody in a timely manner, West said. We either need additional funding or you need to separate the duties.

West said hiring for any law enforcement position has been difficult due to a nationwide trend of reduced staff at agencies.

The Navajo Nation also outsources several services when it comes to death investigations. Their partnership with the Navajo Nation reflects a shared commitment to public safety and compassionate service to families, according to Michele Axlund, the director of Health and Human Services for Coconino County.

The Navajo Nation also works with the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for DNA testing and the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, based at the University of New Mexico.

Heather Edgar, a forensic anthropologist with the Office of Medical Investigator, said she works on many MMIP cases but often struggles to coordinate with different Native law enforcement agencies.

All of those agencies are probably strapped for resources and they are working really hard on current cases, Edgar said. Sometimes when we need to get information about older cases, it can be really challenging.

Edgar said its evident that they do not have sufficient staffing, as they often miss parts of the story or provide poor photographs when communicating with her.

They need appropriate funding so that they can be timely and responsive, Edgar said. They need more training in contemporary methods.

Edgar said that having an entire medical examiner team would be beneficial to investigations as long as its adequately funded.

A medical examiners office is not just a medical examiner. Its medical examiners, its facilities, its death investigators, its an anthropologist, Edgar said. It only makes sense if they are properly resourced.

Charles-Newton said she hopes the Law and Order Committee establishes a working relationship with the IHS to successfully fill the positions, relieving the current criminal investigators from the additional responsibility.

Our stance has never been, federal government, this is your responsibility, Charles-Newton said. Our stance has always been, lets share in this responsibility. Navajo Nation is willing to assist in paying for the portion of the medical examiners position, but we need help.