Tribal leaders to appear at House roundtable on sacred sites

UPDATE: The roundtable will be webcast starting at 2:30pm Eastern time.


Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), far right, with members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe at Save Oak Flat rally in Washington, D.C. July 22, 2015. Photo from Facebook

UPDATE: The roundtable will be webcast starting at 2:30pm Eastern time.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, is hosting a roundtable on sacred sites in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

Two panels of tribal representatives will discuss the threats facing their lands. In particular, they will focus on an act of Congress that authorizes a mine at a sacred Apache site in Arizona known as Oak Flat.

Grijalva is sponsoring H.R.2811, the Save Oak Flat Act, to repeal the controversial provision in the National Defense Authorization Act. Two leaders of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Naelyn Pike, a young tribal member who is a part of the Apache Stronghold movement, will discuss the effort at the event on Capitol Hill.

The roundtable takes place at 2:30pm in Room 2226 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The witness list follows:
Panel I
The Honorable Paulette Jordan, Secretary, National Indian Gaming Association
The Honorable Brian Patterson, President, United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.
The Honorable Fawn Sharp, President, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
The Honorable Terry Rambler, Chairman, San Carlos Apache Tribe

Panel II
The Honorable Shan Lewis, President, Inter Tribal Association of Arizona
The Honorable Ruben Balderas, President, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
The Honorable Wendsler Nosie, Councilman and Member of Apache Stronghold
Naelyn Pike, San Carlos Apache Youth Tribal Member and Member of the Apache Stronghold

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