Joe Garcia: “We need to fix our immigration system and invest in this part of the world to get to the root of the problem in this…”

The plight of the indigenous peoples and the dire need for both Federal investment in our Tribal Nations is personal to me.

I am encouraged by Committee Chairman DeFazio's announcement last week of a transformational five-year, $760 billion investment in infrastructure.

That is the binding contract the United States entered into with Tribes, and from those treaties and other laws has arisen the United States' sacred trust responsibility to the Indian Nations and our peoples.

We urge the Subcommittee to demand that the Department of the Interior commit to abide by the wishes of the tribal government when it comes to re-opening schools.