Andrea Joy Campbell: “these tribes and organizations from across the United States, from Indian country, have declared their universal…”

“these tribes and organizations from across the United States, from Indian country, have declared their universal opposition. Indeed, they are dismayed that we would be considering making such a sea change on Federal Indian policy through the appropriations process. Since tribes have been playing by the rules and some, indeed, have waited for years for recognition, it seems to me a bit unfair to put this in an appropriations bill. The Committee on Indian Affairs has held many hearings on the issue of recognition and recognition reform over the past several years. We also heard from several Native groups that the process has taken generations and people have actually died waiting for recognition. I find it somewhat ironic that descendants of Native people who have lived on this continent for thousands of years have to document who they are to a government set up by primarily post-Columbian immigrants. One thing that has become crystal clear from our hearings--and this has been documented by the GAO and inspector general reports--is that this agency, the Branch Acknowledgment Research, BAR, is not able to provide information in a timely manner to either the Native American petitioners or to outside interested groups. That is where we should be putting our emphasis and providing more money for that process. A substantial contributing factor is the flood of requests under the Freedom of Information Act.”