Lisa Murkowski

And we have in fact in place the Federal protections that are already afforded in law. It is not as if there is no due process that is at play here.

Our reasons for keeping them out of it are rooted in fear, distrust, and assumptions about their capacity to soundly administer the law that all ought to be long since in our past.

Thank you again for your ongoing leadership, not only over the years but over the decades as you are working to protect vulnerable Native women throughout the State of Alaska.

It was good to see the BIA disbursing about $30 million to tribes in P.L. 280 States.

Jurisdictional complexity should not deny safety or justice. That is what we have seen happening.

Indeed, it is a genuine thank you. I want to thank you and your team for the very cooperative work...

Some members of Congress and the news media pushed a narrative that tribal governments somehow would not be fair...

I am absolutely confident, absolutely confident, that Alaska tribes are up to this task.

But I want to emphasize that the impacts on the ground in Native communities, particularly in places like very rural Alaska, they are very real, they are very tragic.

So the outcomes or results are the same, if you will, regardless of whether it is Congressional recognition or administrative recognition?

I guess what I would ask, and this is following your comments, Assistant Secretary, is if there is a situation where this legislation would inadvertently place land into trust that may be historically tied to another tribe that there is…

We must ensure that we are addressing the needs of our tribal communities.

I will state that all of these bills have something in common: they acknowledge and affirm the importance of the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Indian tribes.

We cannot deceive people into thinking that there is some easy button out there that we just have not pushed yet.

We`ve got to step back from the partisanship, we`ve got to step back from the politicization that is driving this conversation. I think we should be able to agree to meaningful improvements that will help ensure that all our elections are…

There is also, I would imagine, a matter of equity, a matter of fairness that requires a settlement process

It has been said, and it is certainly important to repeat, that Indian water rights are vested property rights.

Indian water rights are vested property rights and resources for which the United States has a trust responsibility.

I would like to also to thank Senator Cortez Masto for her leadership and Senator Rosen, Senator Crapo, and Senator Risch for championing this legislation.

This amendment is needed to fulfill the promise of the Settlement Act for the tribes, which is to be able to make use of their water rights to fulfill economic potential of the Duck Valley Reservation.

Water is a valuable resource for Tribes. It is fundamental for Tribal public health and economic development on Indian reservations, particularly in the West.

Negotiated settlements, rather than protracted litigation, has become the preferred approach to resolving Indian water rights disputes.

The land transfer provisions in the proposed Fort Belknap settlement are unique unto themselves.

I look forward to working with both my friends, Senator Tester and Senator Daines, on this settlement going forward.

We need to ensure that the voices of our tribal nations are heard and respected.