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Field hearing set on trauma and mental health in Indian Country

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) speaks with youth from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who met with President Barack Obama in June 2014. Photo from Facebook

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is focusing on trauma and mental health in Indian Country.

A field hearing next month will mark the committee's second foray into the subject. The first was held in November 2014, during the last session of Congress, when lawmakers called for more resources to address childhood trauma in Indian Country.

"If we, the powerful government of the United States, cannot protect the poorest, most disenfranchised and most vulnerable of all people, then we are not worthy of the seats we are sitting in," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) said at the hearing. "We are not worthy of where we are right now."

Since then, Heitkamp has hosted a series of panels and briefings on the issue. As part of her effort, she is pushing Congress to pass S.246, the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act, to help improve the lives of American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

The Senate approved the measure in June 2015 by unanimous consent. It has since been cleared for consideration on the floor of the House.

The field hearing will take place August 17 at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice:
Oversight FIELD Hearing on "Addressing Trauma and Mental Health Challenges in Indian Country." (August 17, 2016)