Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Oversight Hearing titled “Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act Successes and Opportunities at the Department of the Interior and the Indian Health Service”
Date: September 17, 2025
Time: 2:30 PM
Location: Dirksen
Room: 628

Witnesses
Mr. Kennis Bellmard  
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development
U.S. Department of the Interior
Washington, DC

Mr. Benjamin Smith 
Acting Director, Indian Health Service
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, DC

The Honorable Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.  
Principal Chief
Cherokee Nation
Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Mr. Victor Joseph 
Executive Director
Tanana Tribal Council
Tanana, Alaska

Mr. Jay Spaan 
Executive Director
Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Committee Notice:
https://www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/oversight-hearing-entitled-indian-self-determination-and-education-assistance-act-successes-and-opportunities-at-the-department-of-the-interior-and-the-indian-health-service/


Q&A Part 1 [24:21]

Benjamin Smith / Indian Health Service

Kennis Bellmard / Department of the Interior

Victor Joseph / Tanana Tribal Council

Q&A Part 2 [23:07]

Chuck Hoskin Jr. / Cherokee Nation

Jay Spaan / Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium

Freedom Is Yours ⚡️🔥
A dark and powerful anthem blending K-pop, electro-pop, trap, and rock.
It’s about autonomy in your personal life and self-determination in democracy — your voice matters, and no one can take that away.

Glitchy hooks, rap-sung verses, and an explosive chorus 🎶
For everyone who refuses to be silenced. ✊✨

Lyrics, concept & creativity by me – music produced with AI (Suno).

TaniSa - Freedom Is Yours

The UNRWA Opinion: The ICJ, the future of the UN system and ... K-Pop Demon Hunters?

In this episode of Called to the Bar: International Law Over Drinks, host Dr Juliette McIntyre (University of South Australia) is joined by Dr Tamer Morris (University of Sydney) for a dive into the International Court of Justice’s recent advisory opinion on the Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory — better known as the UNRWA Opinion.

The conversation explores what the Court actually said about the legal consequences of Israel’s ongoing occupation and the corresponding duties of third states and international organizations. Juliette and Tamer unpack how the ICJ approached questions of sovereignty, occupation, and self-determination, and how this opinion builds upon—or departs from—the Court’s earlier 2004 Wall Advisory Opinion.

Along the way, they discuss:

- The Court’s reaffirmation of the illegality of prolonged occupation and annexation;

- The obligations of non-recognition and non-assistance for third states;

- The implications for UN agencies such as UNRWA;

- The future of international law, regionalism and the UN system; and

- K-Pop Demon Hunters.

As always, these are informal conversations over drinks, reflecting the personal views of the participants and not those of their institutions.

Recommendations:

Marco Longobardo, The Use of Armed Force in Occupied Territory, https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/use-of-armed-force-in-occupied-territory/E3BFD67926CE0BF856E08277D6218C7C

Strong Girl Bong-soon (K-drama) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6263222/
Goblin (or Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5994364/
When Life Gives You Tangerines (extreme sad feelings warning) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26471411/

Music: Sam Barsh, Oils of Au Lait


57. The UNRWA Opinion: The ICJ, the future of the UN system and ... K-Pop Demon Hunters?

“WHO PUSHED LUCY?” is a poetic and avant-garde narrative that follows Lucy, a girl suspended between the ordinary world and something far more celestial. She’s introduced against the glow of flickering streetlamps, balancing halos with the fragile defiance of someone who refuses to follow the rules written for the sky. The song sets her on the precipice—both literally and spiritually—as she tiptoes along brittle boundaries, daring the cracks to tell their stories. From the opening lines, Lucy becomes a metaphor of risk, rebellion, and the fine line between faith and personal mythology.

But Lucy is also more than a girl; she is a fallen angel in slow motion, and the song wrestles with the mystery of what truly caused the fall. Was she pushed by pride, gravity, the world around her—or was the fall her own choice all along? The narrative refuses to settle on a single answer, treating blame like smoke that curls, shifts, and never fully holds its shape. The chorus underscores this ambiguity, suggesting that descent isn’t always tragedy—it can be a declaration, a decision, a response to inner heat that can’t be contained. The fall is not just a failure, but a transformation.

The duality of Lucy—as both a human figure navigating streetlight shadows and a winged being negotiating celestial rule—creates the emotional heart of the track. She is caught between wandering and belonging, between the hush of heaven and the pull of gravity, between destiny and rebellion. By the end, the song implies that Lucy’s fall is not something done to her, but something she steps into with consciousness and impossible grace. “WHO PUSHED LUCY?” becomes a meditation on agency, metamorphosis, and the profound truth that sometimes the ground itself is a destination we choose.

WHO PUSHED LUCY?

A podcast of informal conversation about topical issues in international law, life in academia and whatever else is on our mind. Hosted by Douglas Guilfoyle, Juliette McIntyre, Tamsin Paige, Imogen Saunders, and Nitna Tzouvala. 

Music: Sam Barsh, Oils of Au Lait

My songs are born from my own thoughts, feelings, and visions. 
Every lyric, every idea, every concept starts with me. 
AI – in this case Suno – is simply the studio I use to give these inner worlds a voice and sound.

Anbid Zaman is a queer activist and artist whose work rises from a life marked by displacement, resistance, and the insistence on living fully even when the world tries to deny that possibility. Born in Bangladesh and shaped by grassroots queer organizing from a young age, they grew into their voice through community struggle — learning early that courage isn’t an act, but a daily discipline.

Their journey from danger to refuge transformed them without erasing their origins. Living in Germany, Anbid continues to work at the intersections of identity, migration, and liberation, supporting queer people who face violence and navigating the complexities of chosen family, safety, and belonging. Their activism is guided by deep commitments: justice without compromise, solidarity across borders, and an unshakeable belief that marginalised voices should be heard not with pity, but with respect.

These values spill directly into their music. Anbid’s sound blends testimonial storytelling, emotional minimalism, and atmospheric layers shaped by memory — the quiet of hiding, the noise of protest, the ache of leaving, the thrill of surviving. Each track carries the weight of lived experience and the brightness of hope that refuses to die. Their art is not just expression; it is continuation, resistance, and a reminder that stories carry power long before the world acknowledges them.

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Phone: 202 630 8439

New tracks tagged #self-determination