Don Young: “I do support H.R. 1294. This bill and prior versions have been in the works over the last several Congresses. This bill…”

“I do support H.R. 1294. This bill and prior versions have been in the works over the last several Congresses. This bill is long overdue. We have heard arguments saying that we should let the tribes undergo the Federal acknowledgment process at the Department of the Interior. This would be a reasonable argument except for the fact that the Department's process is not specifically authorized by Congress. The intentions behind the creation of the process in 1978 were honorable enough, and perhaps compelling tribes to use this process is appropriate in certain cases. But it is a fact that the Department has not always abided by its own process in extending the recognition, or failing to extend recognition, to some legitimate tribes. It is a fact that the administrative process is bogged down with hundreds of petitions, many of which are not filed by tribes that can demonstrate the history of the six Virginia tribes. In the hearings held on this bill, the committee has heard convincing testimony describing the rich but sometimes sad history of the six Virginia tribes. What matters is whether or not the evidence presented to the Congress demonstrates a continuous existence of a distinct Indian community from the time of European contact to the present.”