"Throughout our Nation's history, tribes have suffered abuse and ongoing indignity at the hands of the Federal Government."
"The shameful allotment and assimilation periods of the late 19th and 20th century was nothing short of a disastrous time for Native people."
"Despite the progress that the IRA accomplished, it still has returned less than 10 percent of the roughly 90 million acres that were taken from tribes."
"This is why the Carcieri decision has been so troubling in Indian Country."
"We must ensure that tribes are treated with the fairness and dignity they rightfully deserve."
"The return of land to the tribes was and continues to be critical to restoring the tribal way of life."
"the IRA's goal was to, and I quote, "rehabilitate the Indians' economic life, and to give him a chance to develop the initiative destroyed by a century of oppression and paternalism.""
"the current land-into-trust process is paramount to achieving those goals."
"During your previous tenure as Associate Deputy Director at DOI under the Bush administration, tribes felt like there was a de facto moratorium on land into trust acquisitions."
"To ease their concerns, will you and the Administration commit to moving forward on the land-into-trust decisions that are pending?"
"I personally have had to deal with adjacent jurisdictions trying to come in and dictate how my city should be run."
"I hope that you will continue to be open and work with me and Chairman LaMalfa at ensuring that we continue to uphold the long-standing Federal policies supporting Indian self-determination."