GableGotwals Shareholder Trent Shores to Testify Before Congress on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

September 15, 2026 | Trent Shores, Managing Shareholder of GableGotwals’ Tulsa office and Co-chair of the Firm’s Native American Law practice, testified today before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee at a hearing titled “Missing and Murdered Indigenous People: Strengthening Public Safety in Tribal Communities.”

The hearing comes as Congress examines why Native Americans face disproportionately high rates of violent crime, and what it will take to close the gaps in coordination among tribal, federal, state, and local law enforcement that have long hampered the response to missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) in Indian Country.

Trent brings a rare vantage point to the issue. As U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma from 2017 to 2021, he chaired the Department of Justice’s Native American Issues Subcommittee and built the national initiative the federal government now uses to confront the MMIP crisis. Nearly a decade ago, he testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in support of Savanna’s Act and to draw the Senate’s attention to MMIP. Today he returned to the topic to urge Congress to support tribal law enforcement and victims services in their efforts to combat this public safety tragedy. Trent specifically championed the efforts of the Cherokee Nation Marshals Service and Choctaw Nation Domestic Violence Review Docket to proactively reduce violent crime and support victims.

“When any person goes missing, every hour matters and every family deserves answers and action,” Trent said. “Through my work at GableGotwals, I have the privilege of standing alongside tribal nations as they protect their citizens and strengthen their justice systems. I was honored to bring that perspective before Congress and to advocate for practical solutions that empower tribal law enforcement and help return victims to their families.”

Trent spent nearly 18 years at the Department of Justice before joining GableGotwals. As the chief federal law enforcement officer for Northern Oklahoma, he oversaw all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation across 11 counties, home to more than one million people and 13 federally recognized tribes. His work on Native American policy, violent crime, the opioid epidemic, and economic espionage has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Real Clear Politics, and the Associated Press. He is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

About GableGotwals
GableGotwals attorneys have represented Native American tribes, their leaders, vendors, and commercial organizations in federal, state, and tribal courts and before administrative agencies, and have argued on behalf of Indian rights before the United States Supreme Court. The Firm’s Native American Practice is ranked Band 1 by Chambers & Partners, which describes the team as a “well-established Oklahoma firm with expertise in all areas of legal disputes, representing Indian tribes, vendors, their leaders and organizations in federal, state and tribal courts.” GableGotwals is also named a “Firm to Watch” in Native American Law by Legal 500.