For Immediate Release
January 6, 2023
Contact:
Manu Tupper or Mike Inacay (Schatz) at press@indian.senate.gov
Schatz: Nine Indian Affairs Bills Signed Into Law
Two Schatz-Authored Bills To Support Native Language Revitalization Among Those Enacted
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, issued the following statement celebrating President Biden signing nine Indian Affairs bills into law:
- S. 989, the Native American Language Resource Center Act of 2021;
- S. 1402, the Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act of 2021;
- S. 3168, a bill to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to modify the enforceability date for certain provisions, and for other purposes;
- S. 3308, the Colorado River Indian Tribes Water Resiliency Act of 2021;
- S. 3773, a bill to authorize the leases of up to 99 years for land held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation;
- S. 4104, the Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2022;
- S. 4439, the Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act;
- S. 5087, a bill to amend the Not Invisible Act of 2019 to extend, and provide additional support for, the activities of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice Joint Commission on Reducing Violent Crime Against Indians, and for other purposes; and
- H.R. 897, the Agua Caliente Land Exchange Fee to Trust Confirmation Act.
“These new laws advance key legislative priorities, including expansion of culturally-based Native American language revitalization efforts, construction of life-saving water systems for Tribes and surrounding communities, support for Tribal economic development, restoration of Tribal homelands, and more resources to combat the missing and murdered Indigenous peoples crisis,” said Chairman Schatz. “I thank President Biden for signing these bills into law.”
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