House Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Hearing: Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 (10:00 AM)
2008 RHOB
Washington, D.C.

Note: This playlist does not contain the testimony of Bryan Newland or Richard "Glen" Melville. Most of the testimony from Patrice Kunesh is not included either.

WITNESSES
Panel one
Eugenia Charles-Newton
Law and Order Committee Chair and member of the Navajo Nation

Abigail Echo-Hawk
Executive Vice President at Seattle Indian Health Board and Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute and member of the Pawnee Nation

Cheryl Horn
Member of the Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Task and Member of the Assiniboine Tribe of Fort Belknap

Mary Jane Miles
Member of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee (NPTEC) and Member of the Nez Perce Tribe

Maulian Bryant
Wabanaki Alliance Incoming Executive Director and Member of the Penobscot Nation

Panel two
Bryan Newland
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs and citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community (Ojibwe)

Richard "Glen" Melville
Deputy Bureau Director, Office of Justice Services and member of Makah Tribe of Washington

Patrice Kunesh
Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Daron Carreiro
Acting Director of the Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) at the Department of Justice

Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Opening Remarks

House Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Hearing: Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 (10:00 AM)
2008 RHOB
Washington, D.C.

WITNESSES
Panel one
Eugenia Charles-Newton
Law and Order Committee Chair and member of the Navajo Nation

Abigail Echo-Hawk
Executive Vice President at Seattle Indian Health Board and Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute and member of the Pawnee Nation

Cheryl Horn
Member of the Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Task and Member of the Assiniboine Tribe of Fort Belknap

Mary Jane Miles
Member of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee (NPTEC) and Member of the Nez Perce Tribe

Maulian Bryant
Wabanaki Alliance Incoming Executive Director and Member of the Penobscot Nation

Panel two
Bryan Newland
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs and citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community (Ojibwe)

Richard "Glen" Melville
Deputy Bureau Director, Office of Justice Services and member of Makah Tribe of Washington

Patrice Kunesh
Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Daron Carreiro
Acting Director of the Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) at the Department of Justice

Introduction of Panel Two

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) calls for the release of imprisoned American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier in a speech on December 4, 2024.

Peltier is serving two life sentences for the deaths of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Now at age 80, he has been behind bars for more than half of his life.

"He is in declining health, experiencing vision loss and other illnesses," Schatz said on the floor of the U.S. Senate. "And in spite of all that, earlier this year, federal officials denied his request for compassionate release."

Schatz, who serves as chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, urged President Joe Biden to set Peltier free.

'He's done his time': Senator calls for release of Leonard Peltier

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) leads passage of Indian Country legislation on December 12, 2024.

Schatz chairs the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate, he led passage of the following four bills by unanimous consent:

S.2783, the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act
S.2908, the Indian Buffalo Management Act
S.4365, the Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act
S.4370, the Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments Act

"We're not done"; Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on Indian Country legislation

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) leads passage of two tribal homelands bills on December 12, 2024.

Padilla is the sponsor of the bills, both benefiting tribes in California. They are:

S.3857, the Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act
S.4000, for the Lytton Rancheria

The U.S. Senate passed both bills by unanimous consent.

"Our sacred trust responsibility to tribal nations": Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California)

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) lashes out against the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians at a hearing on sports betting on December 17, 2024.

According to Tillis, the Eastern Band is using gaming revenues to fund lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. He claimed the money was being used to oppose federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe, a state-recognized group in North Carolina.

" Well, I just happen to be spending a lot of quality time with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, debating why they're spending all this money that they're making off of gambling, trying to prevent a tribe that has been denied recognition for 130 years from getting recognition in the state of North Carolina," Tillis said at a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

During his remarks, Tillis displayed a poster titled "The Network Working Against the Lumbee Tribe." It included the seal of the Eastern Band and the photo and name of Wilson Pipestem, a prominent lobbyist who has worked for the Eastern Band.

Despite the presence of the imagery, Tillis referred to Pipestem as "William," repeating a slip-up he made on the U.S. Senate floor on November 21, 2024.

The poster also featured the logo of the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, along with the name of Ben Barnes, the chair of the organization and the chief of the Shawnee Tribe.

Tillis is the sponsor of S.521, the Lumbee Fairness Act. The bill would extend federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe, whose leaders have been trying to gain acknowledgment as an Indian tribe for more than a century.

The Eastern Band, the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma and numerous other tribes and tribal organizations have been calling on the Lumbees to go through the federal acknowledgment process at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Lumbees are instead pursuing recognition through an act of Congress.

The Senate hearing, titled "America’s High-Stakes Bet on Legalized Sports Gambling," did not feature any tribal or Indian Country witnesses.

Committee Notice:
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-activity/hearings/americas-high-stakes-bet-on-legalized-sports-gambling

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) blasts Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina): 'The Network Working Against the Lumbee Tribe'

The U.S. House of Representatives debates H.R.1101, the Lumbee Fairness Act, on December 17, 2024.

The bill extends federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe, headquartered in North Carolina. The Lumbees, who are recognized by the state government, claim descent from the historic Cheraw people.

Following consideration of H.R.1101 under a suspension of the rules, a recorded vote was requested. The bill passed by a vote of 311 to 96, meeting the two-thirds majority required under House procedures.

https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2024/roll511.xml

The bill would still need to pass the U.S. Senate before it could be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

H.R.1101, the Lumbee Fairness Act

H.R.1101 - Lumbee Fairness Act

The U.S. House of Representatives debates S.5355, the National Advisory Council on Indian Education Improvement Act, on December 17, 2024.

The bipartisan bill ensures that the National Advisory Council on Indian Education, also known as NACIE, contains at least one member who is a leader of a tribal college or university. The measure has the support of tribal colleges and Indian education organizations.

Following debate, the House passed S.5355 by a voice vote. The bill has already passed the U.S. Senate so it can now be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

S.5355 - National Advisory Council on Indian Education Improvement Act

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) discusses Indian Country legislation on the floor of the U.S. Senate on December 17, 2024.

" The past four years have been historic for the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs -- by almost any measure," said Schatz, who has served as chair of the legislative panel since January 2021.

"We secured the largest investment in Native communities in American history, totaling more than $45 billion," Schatz continued. "We had the committee's most productive four year period ever, passing more than a dozen bills into law, and just this month, we passed another ten bills in the Senate that are waiting for action in the House."

 "From day one, our work was guided by the voices of Native leaders and community members," Schatz later said in his remarks. "Nothing about me, without me, as the saying goes."

With Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate in the 118th Congress, which starts in January 2025, Schatz will no longer be serving as chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

' Nothing about me,  without me': Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on Indian Country legislation

'Nothing about me,  without me': Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on Indian Country legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives considers S.3857, the Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act, on December 17, 2024.

The bipartisan bill authorizes the acquisition of about 172 acres in trust for the Jamul Indian Village. The land is located in San Diego County in California.

The House considered S.3857 under a suspension of the rules, a process in which a voice vote is normally sufficient for passage. However, a recorded vote was requested on the measure.

The recorded vote is expected to take place on December 18.

The U.S. Senate already passed S.3857. So approval in the House is all that's needed before the bill can be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

S.3857 - jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act

S.3857 - Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act

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New tracks tagged #118th