Shes been on the job for only about a month, but Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is already clear about what one of her priorities will be: addressing the scourge of violence against Native American women.

Haaland announced Thursday that she is creating a joint commission, led by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice , to identify and curtail violent crimes targeting Indigenous women. Her action stems from the enactment in October of the Not Invisible Act, which calls on the Interior Department to oversee grants and programs to tackle a largely invisible crisis of missing and murdered Native women.

Haaland was a lead sponsor of that bill when she represented New Mexico in the House, and now that shes interior secretary, shes not wasting any time as she begins to address the situation.

A lack of urgency, transparency, and coordination has hampered our countrys efforts to combat violence against American Indians and Alaska Natives, she said in a statement. In partnership with the Justice Department and with extensive engagement with Tribes and other stakeholders, Interior will marshal our resources to finally address the crisis of violence against Indigenous peoples.

Haaland will work with Attorney General Merrick Garland to set up the commission. They will appoint 27 members, and the goal of the group will be to hold hearings, take testimony and gather evidence to help come up with recommendations for the government to combat violent crimes against Indigenous peoples.

The interior secretarys latest action comes after she launched a new unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs focused on investigating cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The unit was technically formed in 2019, but it didnt do much. Within two weeks of being sworn in, Haaland announced she was significantly beefing up the units staff and putting real power behind it.