Reaffirming Authority of Secretary of Interior to Take Land Into Trust for Indian Tribes

Floor Speech

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Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 375 introduced by my friend Representative Cole from Oklahoma.

H.R. 375 is a simple, straightforward fix to a problem that has caused chaos and uncertainty in Indian Country for a decade.

Ten years ago, the Supreme Court handed down what is now known as the Carcieri decision. In that decision, the Court determined that eligibility for trust land acquisition under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 only applies to Tribes that were federally recognized as of 1934.

The acquisition of trust land for the benefit of Indian Tribes is absolutely essential to Tribal self-determination, economic development, and protection of Tribal homelands. The Carcieri decision created an unfair, impractical, two-tiered system for Tribes that wanted to engage in this essential function of Tribal sovereignty.

H.R. 375 simply amends the IRA to ensure that all federally recognized Tribes are treated equally, regardless of the date of recognition.

The Carcieri decision and its consequences harken back to the Federal Government's shameful history of oppression in Native communities. The decimation of Tribes and their homeland by the Federal Government is well documented. For centuries, we ignored their treaties and systematically stripped them of their land. It has taken almost a century for us to even begin to undo the damage we have inflicted on indigenous peoples.

Mr. Speaker, that work is nowhere near done. To this day, we are still federally recognizing tribes that the government tried to destroy. We are still striving to return merely a small portion of ancestral land back to Tribes so they can have homelands to call their own.

In order to continue to undo the harm we have done, we must end this system of haves and have-nots for trust land acquisition. We must level the playing field and alleviate the catastrophic consequences this decision has had in Indian Country.

We must pass H.R. 375, the clean Carcieri fix. If we do not, this administration will continue to strip trust land from Tribes like the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which is the subject of another bill on the floor today. Tribes will continue to suffer needlessly, once again at the hands of the Federal Government.

Indian Country has been clamoring for this clean, simple fix for a decade, and we cannot make them wait any longer.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.

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