The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding a hearing this Thursday to discuss the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

In February 2009, the court ruled that the land-into-trust provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act only apply to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" as of 1934. The decision has placed doubts on housing, economic development and other projects for recently recognized tribes.

The committee has already approved S.676, a bill that contains the fix, and it has included the fix in S.703, the HEARTH Act. But the fix hasn't moved in the Senate or the House.

The hearing takes place at 2:15pm in Room 628 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building. The witness list follows:

Panel # 1
The Honorable Tom Cole
Congressman, United States House of Representatives

Panel # 2
The Honorable Larry Echo Hawk Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior

Accompanied by Mr. Donald Laverdure
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs

and Ms. Jodi Gillette
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs,

Panel # 3
Mr. Richard Guest
Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund

Professor Colette Routel
Assistant Professor of Law, William Mitchell College of Law

Mr. William Lomax
President, Native American Finance Officers Association

Professor Carl J. Artman
Professor of Practice, Director, Economic Development in Indian Country Program Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Get the Story:
OVERSIGHT HEARING on the Carcieri Crisis: The Ripple Effect on Jobs, Economic Development and Public Safety in Indian Country (October 13, 2011)

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Thomas] | Concurrence [Breyer] | Dissent [Stevens] | Concurrence/Dissent [Souter]

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