_____________Senate Bill – S. 2907____________
Here is the text and official summary of S. 2907, introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren. And here is a more detailed summary provided by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, which consulted closely with the authors on the wording of the bills.
Status: The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. She Senate Committee has now held a hearing on the bill and on the recently released “Volume One” of the Department of the Interior’s report on the schools. (See below.)
Actions:
- Co-sponsors: As of July 7, 2022, there are 24 co-sponsors in addition to the author, Senator Warren. They are listed below, organized by state. Are both of your Senators on the list? If not, bring the bill to their attention and urge them to take a stand in support.
- Committee Support: Is either of your Senators a member of the Indian Affairs committee? Have they co-sponsored the bill yet? If they have already co-sponsored, let them know of your support for the bill, and ask them to invite some colleagues to join them on the cosponsor list.
- Committee Action: The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on the findings of Volume One of the Interior Department’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Report, a deep dive into Interior Department records to discover details about the history of the boarding school policy and its implementation. The committee also held a legislative hearing to receive testimony on the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S. 2907). Find more information on these hearings and links to testimonies here on the Senate Committee’s website , and here on the website of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.
Here is the list of Senate co-sponsors as of July 7, 2022:
_________House Bill – H.R. 5444 _______
In the House, Representative Sharice Davids introduced H.R. 5444, identical to S. 2907, on September 30, 2021.
Here is the official (brief) summary of the bill. Here is a more comprehensive summary, prepared by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, which consulted closely with the authors on the wording of the bills.
Status: H.R. 5444 has been referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, and the Committee on Education and Labor.
Actions:
- Co-sponsors: As of July 7, 2022, the bill has 65 co-sponsors plus Rep. Davids. The co-sponsors are listed below, organized by state. Is your representative on this list? If not, get in touch with them and urge them to join this bipartisan list of co-sponsors. If they have already signed on to the bill, thank them and ask them to invite some colleagues to join them on the cosponsor list.
- Committee Support: Click the links (above) to see whether your representative is on one of these two committees. If so, it’s especially important to be in touch with them about this bill, even if they’ve already co-sponsored. If your representative is not listed here, you can find their contact information through www.Congress.gov.
- Committee Action: The Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States held a legislative hearing on H.R. 5444 on May 12, 2022. A video of the hearing and links to testimonies of tribal leaders, boarding school survivors, and the director of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition are available here on the sub-committee’s website. The full committee on Natural Resources then picked up the bill and adopted it (with an amendment) by voice vote on June 15, 2022. The next step will be for the House Education Committee to decide whether to exercise its shared jurisdiction.
Here is the list of the 65 House co-sponsors — Is your member listed here?