House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States
Date: Thursday, March 31, 2022
Time: 01:00 PM
Presiding: The Honorable Teresa Leger Fernández, Chair

• H.R.4715, the Quapaw Tribal Landowner Settlement Act of 2021. The bill authorizes the appropriation of $137.5 million to settle the federal government’s mismanagement of assets held in trust for citizens of the Quapaw Nation.

• H.R.5715, a bill to reauthorize the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Trust Fund to ensure that the Udall Foundation can continue to award scholarships to Native students.

• H.R.6707, the Advancing Equality for Wabanaki Nations Act. The bill ensures that the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Passamaquoddy Tribe [Indian Township | Pleasant Point] and the Penobscot Nation are treated in the same manner as other Indian nations in terms of law and policy. A land claim settlement currently imposes hurdles on the tribes when it comes to their sovereignty.

Panel I
Representative Jared Golden
Maine, 2nd District

Panel II
The Honorable William J. Nicholas, Sr. (H.R. 6707) [Testimony: PDF]
Chief
Passamaquoddy Tribe
Princeton, Maine

The Honorable Edward Peter-Paul (H.R. 6707) [Testimony: PDF]
Chief
Mi’kmaq Nation [Note: Aroostook Band of Micmacs]
Presque Isle, Maine

The Honorable Clarissa Sabattis (H.R. 6707) [Testimony: PDF]
Chief
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
Littleton, Maine

The Honorable Joseph T. Byrd (H.R. 4715) [Testimony: PDF]
Chairman
Quapaw Nation
Quapaw, Oklahoma

The Honorable Kirk Francis (H.R. 6707) [Testimony: PDF]
Chief
Penobscot Nation
Indian Island, Maine

Mr. Charles P. Rose (H.R. 5715) [Testimony: PDF]
Chair, Board of Trustees
Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation
Tucson, Arizona

Mr. Patrick Strauch (H.R. 6707) [Testimony: PDF]
Executive Director
Maine Forest Products Council
Augusta, Maine

Legislative Hearing on H.R.4715, H.R.5715, and H.R.6707 (March 31, 2022)
Additional Documents(March 31, 2022)