OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Blackwater Trading Post Land Transfer Act

Floor Speech

Date: May 12, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Indigenous Peoples

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 478, the Blackwater Trading Post Land Transfer Act. This bill will place approximately 55 acres of land in Pinal County, Arizona, into trust for the Gila River Indian Community. According to the Tribe, these lands and the former Blackwater Trading Post have a historical connection to the Tribe, as the trading post served many Tribal members since at least the 1930s. In 2010, the Tribe purchased the Blackwater Trading Post and surrounding lands after the former owners retired.

Pursuant to the 2004 Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act, the Gila River Tribe cannot acquire off-reservation lands into trust absent an act of Congress.

Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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