{"id":164924,"date":"2025-07-16T10:15:52","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T15:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=164924"},"modified":"2025-07-16T13:40:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T18:40:22","slug":"statement-william-billy-kirkland-nomination-hearing-as-assistant-secretary-for-indian-affairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/07\/16\/statement-william-billy-kirkland-nomination-hearing-as-assistant-secretary-for-indian-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement: William “Billy” Kirkland nomination hearing as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs"},"content":{"rendered":" \"J.<\/a>
J. Garret Renville, left, Chairman of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and the Coalition of Large Tribes, presents an honor to Billy Kirkland on behalf of COLT at a reception hosted by the Navajo Nation at the Navajo Nation Washington Office in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 2025. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Statement: William “Billy” Kirkland nomination hearing as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, July 16, 2025<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nUpdate: The hearing has been rescheduled<\/a>. It will now take place at 2:45pm Eastern on July 17, 2025.<\/em>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nStatement of\r\nWilliam \u201cBilly\u201d Kirkland.\r\nNominee for the Position of\r\nAssistant Secretary \u2013 Indian Affairs\r\nat the\r\nU.S. Department of the Interior.\r\nBefore the Committee on Indian Affairs.\r\nUnited States Senate.\r\nJuly 16, 2025<\/strong>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n• PDF: Statement of William \u201cBilly\u201d Kirkland<\/a>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThank you, Chairwoman [Lisa] Murkowski, Vice Chairman [Brian] Schatz, and members of the Committee. I\r\nwould also like to take a moment to thank your staff for their time and effort. I know the long\r\nhours they routinely put in to ensure the important work of this Committee is carried out\r\neffectively. I\u2019ve greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet with many of you and your teams\r\nover the past few weeks. It has been both an exciting and humbling experience.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nI want to thank Congressman Brian Jack for his introduction\u2014and more importantly, for his\r\nfriendship. I also want to thank my mother, Gloria, and my father, Major Bill Kirkland, for being\r\nhere today in support of my nomination. My brother and sister are also in attendance; growing\r\nup, they made sure I wasn\u2019t the only Navajo in our school systems. And most importantly, I\u2019d\r\nlike to thank my wife, Paige, for being here with our three children\u2014Will, Carter, and L.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIt is an honor to be here today as President Donald Trump\u2019s nominee to serve Indian Country as\r\nthe Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIt seems typical when a Native American addresses this distinguished Committee to begin with\r\nan introduction in their native language. Unfortunately, linguistics is not one of my strengths. My\r\naunties gave up years ago on the idea of me mastering the Navajo language, though I know they\r\nstill held hope that I could at least introduce myself properly and share my clans here with y\u2019all\r\ntoday. The sad truth is that if I attempted to do so, I\u2019d likely use up all the time allotted for this\r\nhearing. So instead, I\u2019ll simply say: \u201cY\u00e1\u02bc\u00e1t\u02bc\u00e9\u00e9h, y\u2019all.\u201d For those wondering, that\u2019s Southern\r\nNavajo for \u201chello.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nMy name is Billy Kirkland. I\u2019m a proud member of the Navajo Nation, I am B\u012f\u012fh Bitoodnii. I\r\nwas born just north of the Four Sacred Mountains. I am the son of a Din\u00e9 mother and a father\r\nwho served our nation in the U.S. Army for over 20 years. My mother\u2019s story is one that was all\r\ntoo common in Indian Country. She was taken from her ancestral homeland and family, during a\r\nperiod that is now known as the \u201cTermination Era.\u201d She taught me strength and perseverance\u2014\r\ntraits that define Native communities, especially among the Navajo. My father, through his\r\nmilitary career, taught me commitment and sacrifice.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Citizen\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tCitizen of Navajo Nation tapped for Indian Affairs post\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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A citizen of the Navajo Nation is being tapped to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs though it\u2019s not the person who was publicly lobbying for the job.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nGrowing up, I was given unique perspectives and experiences due to my father\u2019s career. I\r\nrelocated over 15 times before graduating high school. From one coast to the other and even\r\noverseas. Starting over in new environments with different circumstances became second nature,\r\nbut I learned no matter where in the world my father\u2019s job took my family that I was Din\u00e9. My\r\n \r\nmom taught me this. She taught me about Kit Carson and the Long Walk. About the heroic\r\nleadership of Manuelito and his prophetic foresight with this famous quote \u201cMy grandchildren,\r\neducation is a ladder. Tell our people to take it.\u201d She helped develop a deep respect for my\r\nheritage, that is passed down through my clan relationships. I spent many summer days in\r\nLeChee, chasing sheep and hauling water to my Grandma Susie\u2019s sheep camp\u2014because like on\r\nmany reservations even today, water is scarce, and electricity was just a dream. It is where I\r\nlearned first-hand the infrastructure struggles that are far too common still today in Indian\r\nCountry. I developed an undeniable connection with the land and the people. But my family has\r\nalso experienced the darker realities of reservation life\u2014alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and\r\nlack of opportunity. I\u2019ve seen firsthand the lack of economic opportunity in Indian Country.\r\nWhen the Navajo Generating Station shut down in northern AZ, it devastated jobs in an already\r\nstruggling community. I know we can\u2014and must\u2014do better.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe Navajo believe in H\u00f3zh\u00f3\u2014or balance. I believe there is a way to bring meaningful\r\nopportunities to Indian Country while still honoring and preserving our Native heritage and\r\ntraditional ways. If confirmed, I understand that the mission of Indian Affairs at the Department\r\nof the Interior is to uphold meaningful government-to-government relationships with federally\r\nrecognized tribes, Alaska Natives and ANCs; to enact policies that support self-determination\r\nand tribal sovereignty; and to steward trust assets while maintaining the federal trust\r\nresponsibilities that aim to support the social, cultural, and economic self-sufficiency of tribal\r\ncommunities across Indian Country. And while the Office of Indian Affairs has no official\r\noversight role, we will be advocates for our Native Hawaiian brothers and sisters. We will work\r\nto ensure that both the legal and moral obligations are carried out on their behalf.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIf confirmed, I will work with this Committee to uphold the federal trust responsibility. I will\r\nwork in partnership with Tribal Governments, Tribal Leaders, and ANCs to respond directly to\r\nthe challenges their communities face. I believe they are best positioned to identify and\r\nimplement the solutions their people need\u2014better than any federal agency or bureaucrat in\r\nWashington, D.C.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nDuring my time in the White House, I was proud to work closely with the Department of the\r\nInterior and the Office of Indian Affairs on a range of issues. Our administration was the first to\r\nformally recognize the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. President Trump\r\nestablished \u201cOperation Lady Justice\u201d and later issued a proclamation, and later signed into law\r\nSenate Bill 227, Savanna\u2019s Act, and Senate Bill 982, the Not Invisible Act.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nI was privileged to be part of the first administration to recognize and honor Native Code Talkers\r\nin the Oval Office. We helped ensure that over 350 Opportunity Zones included Native\r\nAmerican lands. We formalized the DOI Opioid Reduction Task Force within the Office of\r\nJustice Services and implemented the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act. We\r\nworked to ensure Indian Country was fully included in the CARES Act, and we worked to\r\nstreamline and overhaul permitting processes. These were meaningful accomplishments\u2014but\r\nmuch work remains to be done.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\nMy prior experience in the White House, in business, and in government relations has given me\r\nthe unique tools to serve all Indian Country, Alaska Native, ANCs and Native Hawaiians. I know\r\n \r\nthat collaboration and meaningful consultation with tribal leaders must be a top priority in\r\nfulfilling the mission of the Office of Indian Affairs. I once heard a smart Hawaiian say, \u201cyou\r\nhave to go slow to go fast.\u201d If confirmed, I intend to spend my first 90 days listening to tribal\r\nleaders and the Congressional Committees of jurisdiction to understand top priorities and\r\ndevelop a clear action plan. I will work to build consensus and move quickly once met. I will\r\nlean on the Committees\u2019 experience and expertise. I have reached out to and sought advice and\r\ncounsel from past Assistant Secretary Tara Sweeney and Larry Echohawk and if confirmed I will\r\nrely on all Committee members and their input to most effectively fulfill the duties of the Office\r\nof Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAs this Committee knows, Indian Country is not a homogenous community, one size does not fit\r\nall. Each tribe is distinct\u2014each with its own identity, history, and needs. My goal will be to meet\r\nthose needs and further self-governance. If confirmed my goal will be to honor the diversity of\r\nIndian Country by ensuring our policies are responsive, respectful, and rooted in partnership and\r\nmeet our trust responsibilities.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

"I\u2019m a proud member of the Navajo Nation": Seven months into the Trump administration, the nominee for Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is finally getting a confirmation hearing.

William "Billy" Kirkland is testifying before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. pic.twitter.com\/26VaIQxOrQ<\/a><\/p>— indianz.com (@indianz) July 16, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>