Native American Legislative Update

On Feb. 14, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) President Fawn Sharp delivered the annual State of Indian Nations Address at the NCAI 2022 Executive Council Winter Session.

On Jan. 21, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, to clarify whether a state has authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Native Americans on tribal land.

On Nov. 15-16, for the first time since 2016, the White House hosted the Tribal Nations Summit. Top Biden administration officials spoke with tribal leaders to discuss the progress of administration efforts with tribal nations.

On Oct. 13, the House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act of 2021 (H.R. 2930) by unanimous consent.

On Sept. 30, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA), Rep. Sharice Davids (KS-3), and Rep. Tom Cole (OK-4) introduced a bipartisan bill to establish the first formal commission in United States history on Indian boarding schools.

On August 10, the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) passed the Senate. It allocates $11 billion to be invested in Indian Country.

The Bureau of Land Management has given final approval to the Southern Bighorn Solar Project on tribal lands in Nevada, and construction for the Arrow Canyon Solar Project has begun. These two Moapa Band of Paiutes projects will support local jobs and power 192,000 homes.

On June 22, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the creation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to investigate the deaths and the lasting consequences of residential Indian boarding schools.

Welcome to FCNL’s Native American Legislative Update! NALU is a monthly newsletter about FCNL’s Native American policy advocacy and ways for you to engage members of Congress.

Welcome to FCNL’s Native American Legislative Update! NALU is a monthly newsletter about FCNL’s Native American policy advocacy and ways for you to engage members of Congress.