Native American Legislative Update

Welcome to FCNL’s Native American Legislative Update! NALU is a monthly newsletter about FCNL’s Native American policy advocacy and ways for you to engage members of Congress.

On June 22, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) held an oversight hearing on the findings of volume one of the Interior Department’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Report. 

On May 11, the Department of the Interior released the first volume of the long-awaited Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Report.

For the first time in history, the president’s budget process included direct consultations with tribal nations. As a result, President Joe Biden’s FY 2023 budget proposal includes increased funding for tribal nations and programs.

On March 15, President Joe Biden signed the FY2022 omnibus spending bill into law (P.L. 117-103). Notably, the spending bill included the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

On Feb. 14, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) President Fawn Sharp delivered the annual State of Indian Nations Address at the NCAI 2022 Executive Council Winter Session.

On Jan. 21, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, to clarify whether a state has authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Native Americans on tribal land.

On Nov. 15-16, for the first time since 2016, the White House hosted the Tribal Nations Summit. Top Biden administration officials spoke with tribal leaders to discuss the progress of administration efforts with tribal nations.

On Oct. 13, the House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act of 2021 (H.R. 2930) by unanimous consent.

On Sept. 30, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA), Rep. Sharice Davids (KS-3), and Rep. Tom Cole (OK-4) introduced a bipartisan bill to establish the first formal commission in United States history on Indian boarding schools.