Keith Harper, Cherokee Nation citizen and nominee for U.S. Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Update: The Senate voted 52-42 to confirm Keith Harper. The vote concluded around 12:27pm.

The Senate voted 51-37 on Monday to advance the nomination of attorney Keith Harper to serve as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

A final vote on Harper is set today, according to the Senate floor schedule. If he is confirmed, the Cherokee Nation citizen will be the first member of a federally-recognized tribe to serve in an ambassador-rank post.

"Mr. Harper is the right person for this critical job at the United Nations," Carolyn Lubenau, the chairwoman of the Snoqualmie Tribe, and Shawn Yanity, the chairman of the Stillaguamish Tribe, said in an opinion posted on Indianz.Com. "We know this because we have worked with Mr. Harper and have seen him at the forefront of securing rights for Indian tribes in Washington state and all over the country."

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