BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — The outcry to resolve the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people continues to be heard across North Dakota's Native American communities. But now, lawmakers are hoping a new house bill could help streamline law agencies' efforts to locate and identify cases through a newly proposed task force. Yesterday, tribal members came together at the state capitol in support of House Bill 1199. The bill proposes creating a Missing Indigenous People Task Force. Lawmakers say that this task force could help remedy some of the unique barriers law agencies face when handling missing and murdered Indigenous people cases. The bill recommends the task force help identify and address jurisdictional issues that prevent efficient collaboration between federal, state, local, and tribal agencies. The bill also proposes improvements to tracking the number of missing Indigenous people in North Dakota. And lawmakers say this bill can't come soon enough. "We go missing, and we are murdered at a higher rate than the national average," says District 9 Representative Jayme Davis, "and we can't ignore it anymore, and we won't allow it to be ignored anymore now that we are here." "Listening to the people's testimonies," says District 4A Representative Lisa Finley-DeVille, "and we do have all of these other past bills, and other things that have happened in the past, but right now, we need action." Representative Davis believes the bill could be strengthened with an amendment that seeks to boost tribal representation by having members from each tribe on the task force. She says that each tribe is distinct when it comes to not only cases of the missing and murdered Indigenous people but also the resources local law agencies have available. "All we are asking is for those additional resources just like anybody else," says Representative Davis. "We're not asking for the moon. We just want the same resources, the same support as anybody else would get." As of today, Representative Davis says about 23 Indigenous people are missing in North Dakota, and seven of those have been missing since January 1. All of them are under the age of 18. These include Jemini Posey, Isaac Hunt, and Cylah Black. And Davis says of this 23, only eight have photographs uploaded to their entries.