Native Children
Watch

American Indian and Alaska Native children face disproportionate risks of abuse, going missing and trafficking-related victimization. Federal evidence makes that urgency clear—without relying on an unsupported percentage.

Federal NCANDS data show that in 2021 the substantiated maltreatment rate was 15.2 per 1,000 American Indian or Alaska Native children, compared with 8.1 nationally and 7.1 for White children. The AI/AN rate was about 88% above the national rate and more than twice the White rate. These figures count unique children whom Child Protective Services investigations or assessments found to be victims; state definitions and reporting can vary.

A 2026 HHS Office of Inspector General report states that, nationwide, AI/AN children go missing at a rate more than double their representation in the population. It also identifies AI/AN children in foster care as facing greater risk of human trafficking and other victimization than non-AI/AN peers. The report’s detailed case review itself concerned children missing from foster care in Alaska in 2023; we do not present those Alaska findings as a national audit.

The trafficking picture remains incomplete. GAO found Native Americans to be a vulnerable population and reported that nearly half of responding Tribal law enforcement agencies believed more trafficking was occurring in their jurisdictions than was reported. That evidence supports concern—but not a precise national likelihood percentage for Native children and trafficking.

Native children face documented disparities in abuse, going missing and exploitation. We will state what the evidence proves, name what the data cannot yet measure and never turn an incomplete count into a dramatic claim.