Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson announced Operation Ballistic Backlog Wednesday, an initiative carried out by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in partnership with the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Department of Public Safety (OST-DPS), to address a critical need for firearms evidence testing on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This initiative is part of the FBI’s larger, overarching surge of investigative resources to address unresolved violent crime on tribal lands called Operation Steadfast Promise.

Other initiatives make up parts of Operation Steadfast Promise. For example, FBI surged investigative resources to support Operation Not Forgotten, now in its fourth year. For 2026, Operation Not Forgotten identified a backlog of approximately 500 serviceable firearms in custody of the OST-DPS which had not been entered into the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is a crucial investigative tool managed by ATF that compares spent ammunition casings with other evidence found at crime scenes. NIBIN analyzes microscopic tool marks left on casings by the firearm used to discharge the casing and can match those markings to firearms or other spent casings in evidence, often resulting in investigative leads which may help resolve unsolved gun crimes such as assaults and murders. Since its inception, NIBIN has resulted in more than a million investigative leads on unresolved gun crimes. Many of those leads led to the conviction of drug traffickers, gang members, and murderers. The firearms in OST-DPS custody are being test fired at the OST Criminal Justice Center on Pine Ridge. The resulting casings will be run through NIBIN using the ATF’s Mobile Testing Lab, now at the FBI’s Rapid City Resident Agency during Ballistic Backlog.

“The FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office serves all of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, including the tribal lands that share the same geography,” said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson. “Our agents, analysts, and professional support employees work tenaciously to investigate major crimes on tribal lands, including many gun crimes such as major assaults and murder. This year’s initiatives like Ballistic Backlog and Operation Not Forgotten enhance our ability to make meaningful improvements in public safety and violent crime reduction. We appreciate the crucial partnership of ATF and the resources they have brought to bear in this initiative. We are also grateful for the ongoing partnerships with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and United States Attorney Parsons’ Office which prosecutes the offenders identified by law enforcement investigations on Pine Ridge.”