diff --git a/bookwyrm/migrations/0199_status_bookwyrm_st_remote__06aeba_idx.py b/bookwyrm/migrations/0199_status_bookwyrm_st_remote__06aeba_idx.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5d2513698
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bookwyrm/migrations/0199_status_bookwyrm_st_remote__06aeba_idx.py
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# Generated by Django 3.2.25 on 2024-04-02 19:53
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("bookwyrm", "0198_book_search_vector_author_aliases"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AddIndex(
+            model_name="status",
+            index=models.Index(
+                fields=["remote_id"], name="bookwyrm_st_remote__06aeba_idx"
+            ),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/bookwyrm/models/status.py b/bookwyrm/models/status.py
index f6235dab6..a9c678cb5 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/models/status.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/models/status.py
@@ -80,6 +80,9 @@ class Status(OrderedCollectionPageMixin, BookWyrmModel):
         """default sorting"""
 
         ordering = ("-published_date",)
+        indexes = [
+            models.Index(fields=["remote_id"]),
+        ]
 
     def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
         """save and notify"""