Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD). PHOTO COURTESY/www.directorship.com
Senate Indian Affairs committee loaded with tribal advocates
By Brandon Ecoffey
Native Sun News Staff Writer RAPID CITY—For the first time in recent memory Indian country will have the opportunity to work with a Senate Indian Affairs committee that is loaded with tribal friendly and highly influential politicians. The committee which was partly the brain child of Senator James Abourezk (D-SD), has the jurisdiction to deal with and create solutions to the myriad of socio-economic, political, healthcare, and trust issues that emerge from the American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities. Unbeknownst to most, the committee has jurisdiction over all the legislation proposed in the Senate that pertains to Indian Country. The committee is currently chaired by Maria Cantwell (D-WA) whose appointment to the position was widely praised by tribal leaders across the country. She replaces long time tribal advocate Daniel Akaka (D-HA) who led the committee for the last two years but has now retired. Cantwell has established herself as a pro-Native member of the Senate, having lobbied her fellow members of the Senate to pass a version of the Violence Against Women Act that included tribal provisions. The Senate did pass the law with the tribal provisions included last week. VAWA is currently waiting for the approval of the United States House of Representatives. She is joined by several members from the Democratic party who come from states with high numbers of Native people, including longtime friend to Native people Tim Johnson (D-SD), John Tester (D-MT) who owes his seat in the senate to the support he garnered from Montana’s reservations, Tom Udall (D-NM)), Al Franken (D-MN) and Mark Begich (D-AK) who has established strong ties to the Alaskan Native community. They are joined by Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). Although there are numerous members from the Democratic party on the committee who are known as being allies to tribes, there are several members on the Republican side who are quickly being recognized as emerging leaders on issues in Indian country. This list includes Michael Crapo (R-ID), who played a major role in establishing the bipartisan dialogue necessary to pass VAWA in the Senate with the tribal provisions included, Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who has several years of experience in dealing with the Alaskan Native community and John McCain (D-AZ) who is highly influential, but whose record on tribal issues is inconsistent. The establishment of the this roster of committee members in combination with the reelection of President Obama, who has made attempts to improve conditions in tribal communities, presents a unique opportunity for the advancement of a pro-tribal policy platform. (Contact Brandon Ecoffey at staffwriter2@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission by Native Sun News
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