Threats and violence against Native Americans
FBI data show 109 anti-American Indian or Alaska Native hate crime incidents in 2025. That count barely touches the problem. Federal research finds most Native women experience violence in their lifetimes, overwhelmingly at the hands of non-Native offenders.
What you need to know
- 109 anti-American Indian or Alaska Native incidents were reported to the FBI in 2025, down from 121.
- 84.3 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetimes, per a National Institute of Justice study.
- 97 percent of Native women who experienced violence were harmed by at least one non-Native perpetrator, per the same study.
- Jurisdiction gaps among tribal, state and federal agencies let cases fall through. Routing a threat to the right agency matters more here than anywhere.
The official count
| Bias type | Category | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-American Indian or Alaska Native | Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry | 109 | 121 | -12 |
Counts are incidents reported by agencies that file with the FBI. A lower number can mean fewer agencies reported, not less hate. See every bias type.
Attacks that define the threat
- 2016 · National Institute of Justice
The largest federal study of violence against Native people found most Native women and men had experienced violence, much of it interracial.
- Oct. 2020 · Washington, D.C.
Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act became law to improve how cases of missing and murdered Native people are tracked and investigated.
Terms and signals
Analysts and officers see these in posts, comments and channels. Knowing them lets you read a threat for what it is.
- Predatory targeting
- Posts and ads aimed at Native women and girls near reservations, truck stops and highway corridors.
- Plain slurs and land disputes
- Anti-Native hate is less coded than other forms. Threats often surface around land, water and sovereignty disputes.
- Missing-person mockery
- Comments that mock or celebrate missing Native women are a recognized marker of offenders and their circles.
A term alone is not a threat. Hateful speech is often legal. NCTIC scores escalation: a specific target, a means, a time, and signs of planning or goodbye messages.
From talk to attack
Jurisdiction. A threat can involve tribal police, county sheriffs, state police and the FBI at once. NCTIC routes to every agency that may have jurisdiction.
Corridors. NCTIC tracks cases along highways that cross or border tribal lands. Patterns that span states show up only when someone reads across them.
Report a threat
- Call 911 for anything imminent. Report missing Native people to tribal police and local law enforcement at once; there is no waiting period.
- Report threats to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI. Cases can be entered in NamUs, the national missing persons system.
- Send threats you find to NCTIC at pesach@lattin.us or 505-932-9060. We route each one to the agency with jurisdiction.
Frequently asked
How many anti-Native American hate crimes were reported in 2025?
Agencies reported 109 anti-American Indian or Alaska Native hate crime incidents to the FBI for 2025, down from 121 in 2024.
How common is violence against Native women?
A National Institute of Justice study found 84.3 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women had experienced violence in their lifetimes, and 97 percent of those had experienced it from at least one non-Native perpetrator.
Who studies this
NCTIC's analysis draws on official data and the work of these organizations. Listing them does not mean they endorse NCTIC.
Advocacy and resources on violence against Native women.
Research on missing and murdered Indigenous women in cities.
Federal research on violence against Native people.
How we put this together. Hate crime counts are incidents reported by law enforcement agencies to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program for 2025, released Aug. 14, 2026, as tabulated by the Arab American Institute; 2024 comparisons use the FBI's updated Crime Data Explorer figures. These counts cover only agencies that report and only incidents that reach police, so they understate the problem, and year-to-year changes partly reflect which agencies filed. Attack summaries draw on court records and news reporting cited below. Watch terms come from NCTIC analysis and public research such as the ADL Hate Symbols database. NCTIC products are analysis and can be wrong.
NCTIC is an independent nonprofit, non-governmental organization. It is not a government agency, does not act under government authority, and does not make or enforce laws.
We take no position on immigration or other policy questions and do not blame threats on any group. Our anchor is simple: the law says no violence against people, whoever they are.