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Senate Committee on Indian Affairs adds another hearing to schedule

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The Lone Pine In-lieu Site is one of 31 sites along the Columbia River where tribal members endure substandard living conditions despite promises by the United States to ensure access to treaty-protected fishing grounds. Photo from Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has added another hearing to its schedule for September.

In addition to holding a business meeting and hearing this Wednesday, the committee is meeting next Wednesday, September 14. Four bills are on the agenda:

• S.2636, the Reservation Land Consolidation Act. The bill requires the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve land-into-trust applications for property within or contiguous to the boundaries of an existing reservation, which would essentially streamline the process.
• S.3216, a bill to repeal the 1948 federal law that granted jurisdiction over the Meskwaki Settlement to the state of Iowa. The state has already taken steps to cede jurisdiction over offenses committed by members of the Meskwaki Tribe and of other tribes.
• S.3222, the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act. The bill would pave the way for the Columbia River treaty tribes to receive housing and infrastructure they were promised at traditional fishing sites along the Columbia River. It puts the Bureau of Indian Affairs in charge of assessing conditions at the sites.
• S. XXXX, the Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2016. The bill has yet to be introduced as of Tuesday but it would presumably ratify a water rights settlement between the Hualapai Tribe, the state of Arizona and the federal government.