Senate Committee on Indian Affairs holds field hearing on infrastructure

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The Hoċokata Ti cultural center and museum is owned and operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Shakopee, Minnesota. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Monday, June 27, 2022

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UPDATE

According to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the field hearing will be broadcast on the committee’s YouTube channel. Also, written witness testimony has been added to this post.

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Posted: June 28, 2022

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is going back on the road this week with a field hearing on infrastructure.

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), a member of the committee, will chair the hearing, which takes place in Minnesota on Tuesday. It is being hosted by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, located just outside of the Twin Cities.

According to the committee, the hearing will focus on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The historic law provides over $13 billion in direct funding to tribal nations, and it opens up billions of dollars in additional funds to Indian Country through more than 150 programs across the U.S. government.

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The hearing begins at 11am Central in the Minnetonka Conference Room at the Mystic Lake Center. It is open to the public.

The committee has not said whether a livestream will be provided. Recent field hearings in Hawaii and Alaska have been carried online.

The witness list for the infrastructure field hearing follows:

The Honorable Bryan Newland – Testimony: [PDF]
Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs
U.S. Department of the Interior
Washington, DC
*Accompanied by Jason Freihage, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington DC

Ms. Elizabeth Fowler – Testimony: [PDF]
Acting Director, Indian Health Service
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, DC

Mr. Jeremiah Baumann – Testimony: [PDF]
Chief of Staff, Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure
U.S. Department of Energy
Washington, DC

The Honorable Cathy Chavers – Testimony: [PDF]
Chairwoman
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
Orr, Minnesota

The Honorable Melanie Benjamin – Testimony: [PDF]
Chief Executive Officer
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Onamia, Minnesota

The Honorable Kevin Dupuis, Sr. – Testimony: [PDF]
Chairman
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Cloquet, Minnesota

The Honorable Keith Anderson – Testimony: [PDF]
Chairman
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Business Council
Prior Lake, Minnesota

The Honorable Robert Larsen – Testimony: [PDF]
President
Lower Sioux Indian Community
Morton, Minnesota

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice

Field Hearing titled “Investing in Native Communities: Transformative Opportunities in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act”