11.14.18

Hoeven Convenes Legislative Hearing to Receive Testimony on Three Bills

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today convened a legislative hearing to receive testimony on the following three pieces of legislation: S. 2788, A bill to repeal the Act entitled “An Act to confer jurisdiction on the State of North Dakota over offenses committed by or against Indians on the Devils Lake Indian Reservation”, H.R. 2606, the Stigler Act Amendments of 2018, and H.R. 4032, the Gila River Indian Community Federal Rights-of-Way, Easements and Boundary Clarification Act.

“Today the committee received testimony from Administration and Tribal officials on three Tribal jurisdiction and lands bills,” said Hoeven. “The testimony provided today indicated how each of these bills will assist the individual Tribes affected.”

  • S. 2788 repeals an outdated federal statute that authorizes the State of North Dakota to prosecute certain crimes committed on the Spirit Lake Reservation.
  • H.R. 2606 repeals certain provisions in Federal law regarding the restricted lands of members of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma.
  • H.R. 4032 confirms undocumented Federal rights-of-way or easements on the Gila River Indian Reservation, clarifies the northern boundary of the Gila River Indian Community’s Reservation, and takes certain land located in Maricopa County and Pinal County, Arizona, into trust for the benefit of the Gila River Indian Community.

The committee received testimony from:

  • MR. DARRYL LACOUNTE, Acting Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
  • THE HONORABLE JAMES FLOYD, Principal Chief, Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, Okmulgee, OK
  • THE HONORABLE DOUGLAS YANKTON, SR., Vice Chairman, Spirit Lake Tribe, Fort Totten, ND
  • THE HONORABLE BARNEY ENOS, JR., Councilman, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ

For witness testimony and video of the hearing click here.

-###-