For Release: Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Washington, DC — Members of the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) community are disproportionately impacted by lethal gun violence according to American Indian/Alaska Native Victims of Lethal Firearm Violence in the United States, a new study from the Violence Policy Center (VPC).
Analyzing 2023 data (the most recent available) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the study’s findings include:
- In 2023 there were 553 reported gun deaths in the AI/AN population (246 of which were homicides and 260 were suicides). Rates of both firearm homicides and firearm suicides in this population increased substantially between 2018 and 2022, before decreasing slightly in 2023. Males accounted for the vast majority of homicide victims (78.5%) as well as firearm homicide victims (79.3%).
- Compared to other racial groups, the AI/AN population has had the second highest rates of homicide and firearm homicide in the nation since 2018, surpassed only by the Black population.
- In 2023, those in the AI/AN community were twice as likely to die by homicide or firearm homicide compared to the white population.
- VPC research shows that since 2015 the rate of female AI/AN victims killed by males has been the second highest in the nation.
- Both overall suicide rates and firearm suicide rates in the AI/AN population remain the second highest in the nation, surpassed only by the white population. In 2023, males accounted for the vast majority of AI/AN suicide victims (74.7%) as well as firearm suicide victims (85.8%).
“The American Indian/Alaska Native population faces a continuing crisis of lethal gun violence that outside of impacted communities rarely receives the attention it demands. The goal of this annual report is to support the efforts of advocates, organizations, and policymakers as they work to reduce gun violence in this community,” states Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center.
The study warns that the number of AI/AN females killed by guns is most likely undercounted due to the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), with experts believing that there are numerous unreported or misclassified deaths among AI/AN females that are currently not included in the data. In addition, significant race misclassification exists in mortality data for the AI/AN community.
To view the full report, please visit: https://vpc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AIAN2025.pdf.
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The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
