Melanie Stansbury

The crucial work of decolonizing, repatriating, co-managing, and ensuring that we are creating collaborative ways to do all of this work is really particularly crucial, I think, right now.

If you think about in the historic trajectory of our country, I think many Americans would be shocked to know that there are still rules and regulations on our books across our Federal agencies that do not recognize that our Federal lands…

I think that it is a new day in Washington, and your appointment to this role, your amazing expertise and service, and your willingness to step up and play this role is so crucial, especially at this historical moment.

I actually believe this is a great place for private-sector development as well because the Federal Government will never be able to provide that fine granularity of products and services.

We need tools to be able to inform our communities so that they can make those kinds of decisions at the granular level.

We have to take existing data sets that already exist, translate those into meaningful tools that our communities can actually use.

How do we translate science data information into useful tools and resources that our communities can actually use.

We have to actually engage and prepare our communities for the change that's already here.

Water is ground zero for climate change.

The American Southwest is experiencing the worst drought conditions that have occurred in over 1,200 years

This hearing couldn't possibly be more timely with the release of the IPCC's adaptation report that came out last week

This policy and any policy that is truly focused on EJ, we will continue fighting for it.

This is not hypothetical in New Mexico. Our history and our landscape are peppered with the examples of how the historical legacy has impacted our communities.

It is about putting the power, the tools, and the resources back into our communities that have experienced the disproportionate impacts.

Our communities must be at the table in making decisions that affect their quality of life, their health, and their futures.

I very much look forward to working with this Committee and my colleagues to get the Violence Against Women Act passed in the Senate.

We have to pass the Violence Against Women Act. And so I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass that bill urgently.

One of the most important recommendations that came out of that work was about data and cross-jurisdictional sharing of data.

This is a crisis not only in New Mexico's Indigenous communities but across the United States and across the world.

Each case number represents a life and a story and a tear in the fabric of our communities.

The crisis of human trafficking and particularly of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives and women is one of my top priorities.

Our Tribes and Pueblos are working to address the impacts of climate change, to maintain and revitalize our traditional agricultural practices, to restore and to repatriate sacred lands and traditional lands.

I think it is really crucial that we acknowledge the history of the United States and its policies, and how that has disproportionately impacted our communities of color and, in particular, our Indigenous, Black, Brown, and other…

What are the changes you think could make it easier for organizations and communities to apply and manage those grants?

I know how hard it is to access that Federal funding.