On the recordFebruary 23, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my good friend Mr. Abercrombie for his distinguished career and our good friendship. And the fact that I am rising in support of this bill and my good friend Mr. Young has risen in support of this bill is certainly an indication it is not a partisan measure. Frankly, our side did not decide to whip this. So this really is a nonpartisan question before the Congress. It is not an issue of race, as some would argue. It is not an issue of States' rights, as some would argue. It is actually, in the end, a question of Federal authority and how the Federal Government chooses to treat indigenous peoples. And frankly, if we want to look at that, we ought to be guided by our own Constitution, our own legal traditions, and our own actions as a Congress. Over 200 years of American history has taught us from the very beginning, from the foundation of the Constitution, that we had decided we will treat native peoples as individual subordinate sovereign units, and we will negotiate our relationships with them.
