Political Quotes

“this week the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing to address five important pieces of legislation. Two of these bills, the Moapa Band of Paiutes Land Conveyance Act--S. 2479--and the Nevada Native Nations Land Act--S. 2480--will transfer land into trust for a total of eight Indian tribes in Nevada for heritage preservation and economic development. Nevada's Great Basin has always been home to the Washoe, Paiute and Western Shoshone Peoples. The First Nevadans have long been a voice for protecting our wild landscapes and enriching our State through their language and cultural heritage. I take the many obligations that the United States has to tribal nations seriously. Land is lifeblood to Native Americans and these bills provide space for housing, economic development, traditional uses and cultural protection. I would like to commend the tribes, whose immense work and collaboration made these bills possible, and I look forward to continuing to work with our First Nevadans on protecting homelands. The Moapa Band of Paiute Indians have been in Nevada and the West since time immemorial and suffered great land losses through Federal Indian policy. When the Moapa River Reservation was established in the late 1800s, it consisted of over 2 million acres. In its lust to settle the West, Congress drastically reduced the reservation to just 1,000 acres in 1875. It wasn't until 1980 that Congress restored 70,500 acres to the reservation.…”