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

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico for the generosity of the time.

As the author of H.R. 4352, I rise to encourage all of my colleagues to join in this bipartisan effort to end discrimination against Tribal nations and to ensure that all 574 federally recognized Tribal nations have the equal ability to restore their homelands through the Department of the Interior's fee-to-trust process.

This bill would confirm Congress' intent that the Indian Reorganization Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to place land into trust for all federally recognized Tribal nations, regardless of their date of recognition.

Let's be clear, what is at the heart of this bipartisan legislation is equality. All 574 federally recognized Tribal nations deserve to have equal access to the Federal process for restoring their homelands.

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2009 Carcieri decision violated this equality principle by forcing a two-tier system for the Department of the Interior's fee-to-trust process: One process for Tribal nations federally recognized before 1934 and a different process for Tribal nations recognized after 1934.

Carcieri imposed on federally recognized Tribal nations an unfair, separate, and unequal process, a fundamentally discriminatory process for restoring their homelands. Now is the time for Congress to fix this blatant discrimination against Tribal nations. For over a decade now, Tribal governments and Native American organizations have prioritized a clean Carcieri fix.

The president of the National Congress of American Indians, Ms. Fawn Sharp, made the following statement, ``Carcieri has effectively created two classes of Tribal nations and has overburdened Tribal, Federal, and State resources by generating unnecessary conflict over the restoration and retention of Tribal homelands, and consequently impeded economic development.

``NCAI strongly encourages Congress to end this turmoil by enacting a congressional fix to the Indian Reorganization Act which reaffirms the Secretary of the Interior's authority to restore Tribal homelands for all federally recognized Tribal nations.''

Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation and president of the United Southern and Eastern Tribes, USET, adds his support, saying, ``Homelands are essential to exercising Tribal Government authority, protecting our cultural identity, and foundational to growing our economies. After decades of Federal efforts to diminish our homelands, placing land into trust is a critical aspect of the Federal Government's trust and treaty obligations and righting these historical wrongs.''

For years elected Tribal Government leaders have told Congress repeatedly that the Carcieri decision has caused significant hardship and has created second-class status for Tribal nations when it comes to restoring their homelands. Tribal governments currently experience enormous time and scarce resources fighting Carcieri-based lawsuits.

For example, Chairman Tom Wooten of the Samish Indian Nation in Washington State supports this bill, saying, ``H.R. 4352 will help right past wrongs by the Department of the Interior and enable the Samish Indian Nation to move forward in reestablishing our homeland and rebuilding our community.

``In 2018, the Interior Department approved the Tribe's trust land application for 6.7 acres after an over 9-year process to complete a Carcieri analysis. The Department's decision is tied up in endless litigation based upon Carcieri.

``This bill would stop frivolous litigation to ensure that no other Tribe has to go through what we went through.''

Madam Speaker, this is why we need to take action today, to pass a clean Carcieri fix. Since the 2009 opinion, Members in both Chambers of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have introduced legislation to restore the original intent of the Indian Reorganization Act.

This is a completely bipartisan issue. In fact, I will say it is a nonpartisan issue. This bill restores a fair and equal land-into-trust process, which is a fundamental responsibility within our government- to-government relationship with all federally recognized Tribal nations.

Last Congress, the House overwhelmingly supported Representative Tom Cole's legislation to fix this longstanding issue for Indian Country, which I proudly cosponsored. Today, I ask my colleagues to join us again in passing a clean Carcieri fix.

Madam Speaker, Tribal nations should not be discriminated against because of their date of Federal recognition. The date has no bearing on their existence as sovereign nations, so it should have no bearing on their right to reestablish their homelands.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

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