[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 867 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 867

Relating to the death of the Alan R. Parker, former Staff Director and 
    Chief Counsel of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 8, 2022

  Mr. Schatz (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Relating to the death of the Alan R. Parker, former Staff Director and 
    Chief Counsel of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate.

Whereas Alan R. Parker was born on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Fort 
        Yates, North Dakota;
Whereas Alan R. Parker was a proud citizen of the Chippewa Cree Nation;
Whereas Alan R. Parker grew up on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in Montana, 
        and considered the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation as his home;
Whereas Alan R. Parker was drafted into the United States Army in 1965, achieved 
        the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army Signal Corps, 
        deployed to Vietnam in 1967, and was awarded a Bronze Star for 
        meritorious service under combat conditions;
Whereas, in 1972, Alan R. Parker graduated from the University of California, 
        Los Angeles School of Law and worked for the Office of the Solicitor of 
        the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C.;
Whereas, in 1974, Alan R. Parker joined the Indian Law Center at the University 
        of New Mexico as a staff attorney;
Whereas, in 1975, Alan R. Parker was appointed to the Tribal Government Task 
        Force of the American Indian Policy Review Commission;
Whereas, in 1977, Alan R. Parker was appointed by Senator James Abourezk as the 
        first Native American Chief Counsel of the newly established Temporary 
        Select Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
Whereas Alan R. Parker served as the President of the American Indian National 
        Bank during the period of 1982 to 1987;
Whereas, in 1987, Alan R. Parker was appointed by Senator Daniel K. Inouye to 
        serve as Staff Director of the permanent Committee on Indian Affairs of 
        the Senate;
Whereas Alan R. Parker worked to secure passage of the--

    (1) Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.);

    (2) Public Law 95-341 (commonly known as the ``American Indian 
Religious Freedom Act'') (42 U.S.C. 1996);

    (3) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.);

    (4) Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 
3001 et seq.);

    (5) Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5361 et seq.); and

    (6) numerous Tribal land and water claims settlement Acts;

Whereas, in 1991, Alan R. Parker established the National Indian Policy Center 
        at George Washington University;
Whereas, in 1997, Alan R. Parker joined the faculty of the Evergreen State 
        College in Olympia, Washington, and established the Northwest Indian 
        Applied Research Institute, the first graduate program in Tribal 
        governance;
Whereas, in 2007, Alan R. Parker was appointed as the co-chair of the National 
        Congress of American Indians' Special Committee on Indigenous Nation 
        Relations and coordinated treaty negotiations to establish the United 
        League of Indigenous Nations;
Whereas, in 2014, Alan R. Parker served as an adjunct faculty member at the 
        Maori Indigenous University, Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi in New 
        Zealand and focused on the advancement of Indigenous Nations across the 
        Western World;
Whereas Alan R. Parker authored ``Pathways to Indigenous Nation Sovereignty in 
        the 21st Century'' and ``American Indian Identity: Citizenship, 
        Membership and Blood'' with Jessie Young and Se-ah-dom Edmo;
Whereas Alan R. Parker was--

    (1) a loving husband to his wife of 53 years, Sharon Parker;

    (2) a loving father to his children Christina Parker and James Alan 
Parker; and

    (3) a loving grandfather to his grandchildren, Shahndiin Parker, Siale 
Edmo Parker, Imasees Alan ``Little Bear'' Parker, and Miyosiwin Elizabeth 
Parker;

Whereas Alan R. Parker is survived by 4 sisters, 1 brother, and many beloved 
        cousins, nieces, and nephews; and
Whereas Alan R. Parker was a life-long advocate for Native communities and 
        contributed to the design and development of some of the most important 
        laws affirming Tribal sovereignty and the Federal trust responsibility 
        of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep 
        regret the announcement of the death of Alan R. Parker, former 
        Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Committee on Indian 
        Affairs of the Senate; and
            (2) the Senate respectfully requests that the Secretary of 
        the Senate--
                    (A) communicate this resolution to the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to 
                the family of Alan R. Parker.
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