Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, at a May 21, 2014, hearing. Photo from Flickr
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a legislative hearing this afternoon on five bills. The bills address land-into-trust, mineral rights and water rights issues for tribes in Arizona, Montana, Nevada and New Mexico. All were largely non-controversial and all were generally endorsed by the Obama administration, although Mike Black, the director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, suggested some changes. The bills are:
• S. 2442, the Northern Cheyenne Lands Act. The bill requires the Interior Department to place land, mineral rights and important sites into trust for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana.The hearing lasted about an hour and 29 minutes. Audio can be found on the Indianz.Com SoundCloud.
• S. 2465, the Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act. The bill requires DOI to place land into trust for the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico.
• S.2479, the Moapa Band of Paiutes Land Conveyance Act. The bill The bill requires DOI to place land into trust for the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians in Nevada.
• S.2480, the Nevada Native Nations Land Act. The bill requires DOI to place land into trust for seven tribes.
• S. 2503, a bill to implement a water rights settlement for the Hualapai Tribe of Arizona.
Committee Notices:
Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on the following bills (July 9, 2014) Related Stories:
Witness list for Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on bills (7/7)
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs plans four hearings in July (06/30)
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