Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 122, the Protection of the Right of Tribes to stop the Export of Cultural and Traditional Patrimony Resolution, or the PROTECT Patrimony Resolution. I commend Mr. Pearce and his Democratic cosponsor, Ms. McCollum, for their leadership on this issue. This important resolution condemns the theft, illegal possession, sale, transfer, and export for tribal cultural items belonging to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and American Hawaiians in the United States and internationally. For those of us who have visited reservations, such as those in the State of Texas and Pueblos in New Mexico, we are well aware of the long, long history of Native Americans throughout the United States. For far too long, Native Americans have struggled to protect their sacred and cultural artifacts--such as ancestral remains, funerary objects, and sacred items--from thieves who steal these precious objects, all in the pursuit of profits; and I hope it will now stop. These irreplaceable objects are vital to the survival of tribal culture and to the maintenance of tribal ways of life. Yet, time and again, they are stolen by thieves who come in the dark of the night with axes, shovels, and even power tools to remove them from historical sites, which are often destroyed in the process.…”