WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Vice Chairman of the Committee, led a hearing on Native priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill Reauthorization.
Distinguished guests who testified at the hearing included: Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska President Richard Peterson; Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium Executive Director Jay Spaan; NDN Collective Hawai‘i Regional Director Davis Price; Intertribal Agriculture Council Policy and Government Relations Director Abi Fain; Muscogee (Creek) Nation Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Director Trent Kissee; and Intertribal Timber Council President Cody Desautel.
“American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians have come together to advocate, to engage, and to be heard by Congress on their Farm Bill equities, and this Committee has been listening,” said Chairman Schatz. “In addition to regular engagement with Native stakeholder groups on their Farm Bill priorities, the Committee has worked diligently over the course of two Congresses, gathering and analyzing input from Native communities across the country and from members on and off the Committee.”
“Indigenous farming, ranching, and forestry are deeply rooted in the cultures and ways of life of many Native communities,” said Vice Chairman Murkowski. “SCIA’s hearing demonstrates the time has come to extend and expand self-determination and self-governance authorities to USDA to showcase the successes of tribal delivery models to build healthy communities. I look forward to working with Chairman Schatz to advance a Tribal Title in the next Farm Bill.