House Committee on Natural Resources set to advance Indian Country bills

Monday, June 17, 2019

By Acee Agoyo

• WEBCAST: House Committee on Natural Resources Markup - June 19, 2019

The House Committee on Natural Resources is meeting on Wednesday morning for a markup session.

Three Indian Country bills of interest are on the agenda for the markup. They are:

• H.R.759, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement Act. The bill brings parity to the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, also known as the Tigua Tribe, and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe, ensuring they can engage in gaming on their homelands like almost every tribe in the U.S.

A hearing on H.R.759 has not taken place in the 116th Congress. But the committee took testimony on a prior version of the bill during the last session.

• H.R.1225, the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act. The bill directs a portion of energy revenues on federal lands to the Bureau of Indian Education in order to pay for school construction and deferred maintenance backlogs. Replacing aging schools will cost billions of dollars, according to some government estimates, while the deferred maintenance backlog is at least $643 million.

A hearing on H.R.1225 has not taken place in the 116th Congress. But a prior version was approved by the committee during the last session.

A 10-foot tall bronze statue of Ponca Chief Standing Bear was erected October 15, 2017, along a plaza leading to the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. In 1879, Standing Bear convinced a federal judge to allow him to return to his homelands in northeast Nebraska, a decision that is today considered an important civil rights victory for Native Americans. Photo by Kevin Abourezk

• H.R.2490, a bill to conduct a feasibility study of the Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail. The 550-mile path traces the journey the Poncas were forced to make in 1877 to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma.

A hearing on H.R.2490 took place on May 22. Judi gaiashkibos, a citizen who serves as Ponca Tribe who serves as executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, testified in support.

"As a Ponca tribal member, this piece of history is very personal to me," gaiashkibos told House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands at the hearing. "But beyond my personal connection, I truly believe it is a story worth documenting for the rest of the nation, and a story that resonates with every one that hears it."

A markup is an important step in the legislative process. It means a measure is ready to be considered for passage by the U.S. House of Representatives though not every bill makes it that far.

The 116th Congress

So far in the 116th Congress, which began in January under Democratic control, the House has passed six stand-alone Indian Country bills. They are:

• H.R.297, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act, passed on March 26. The bill extends federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, whose citizens have been kept in limbo by the U.S. government for more than a century.

• H.R.1388, the Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act, passed on March 26. The bill helps the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians reclaim a small portion of the homelands they lost at the hands of the federal government.

• H.R.91, the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act. The bill, which passed on April 29, improves living conditions at sites along the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington that are protected under an 1855 treaty signed by the U.S.

• H.R.317, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Land Affirmation Act, passed on April 29. The bill protects the homelands of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians from litigation by opponents in California.

• H.R.375, passed on May 15. The bill ensures that all tribes, regardless of the date of federal recognition, can restore their homelands through the land-into-trust process. The measure is otherwise known as a "fix" to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

• H.R.312, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act. The bill protects the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe from litigation by opponents in Massachusetts.

So far, none of the six bills have been passed by the U.S. Senate, which is under Republican control.

House Committee on Natural Resources Notice

Full Commitee Markup (June 19, 2019)