Commemorating and celebrating the extraordinary contributions of the late Honorable Raúl Grijalva, honoring his legacy of service, dedication, and unwavering advocacy for the people of Arizona and indigenous communities across the country.

Commemorating and celebrating the extraordinary contributions of the late Honorable Raúl Grijalva, honoring his legacy of service, dedication, and unwavering advocacy for the people of Arizona and indigenous communities across the country.

Whereas the Honorable Raúl Grijalva dedicated his life to public service and demonstrated steadfast commitment to upholding Tribal sovereignty, protecting sacred lands, and improving the well-being of Tribal communities through his time in Congress;

Whereas he served as a distinguished Member of the House of Representatives for over 22 years, representing Arizona’s 7th Congressional District with unwavering commitment and integrity;

Whereas, throughout his tenure, Congressman Grijalva championed policies that promoted equitable education, economic opportunity, environmental justice, and health care access for underserved communities;

Whereas, as Chair and ranking minority member of the House Natural Resources Committee, he was a steadfast advocate for environmental protection, public lands, and indigenous rights, working tirelessly to ensure responsible stewardship of America’s natural resources;

Whereas he used his leadership role on the Committee to center and uplift indigenous voices and ensure that Federal policies respected and advanced Tribal sovereignty and self-determination across the Committee’s work;

Whereas Representative Grijalva used his oversight authority to hold Federal agencies accountable for failures to uphold the Federal trust responsibility, highlighting inadequate Tribal consultation practices and demanding reforms at agencies such as the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs;

Whereas Representative Grijalva stood with Tribal leaders and fought to protect sacred sites, including through his leadership on the Save Oak Flat Act, which strived to protect Oak Flat, or Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, a sacred site for the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other Tribal communities in Arizona from a destructive mining project;

Whereas Representative Grijalva steadfastly championed the protection of other sacred sites—including Bears Ears and Chaco Canyon—standing in solidarity with Tribal nations to safeguard lands of profound cultural and spiritual value;

Whereas Representative Grijalva demonstrated unwavering support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests by traveling to North Dakota to meet with Tribal leaders and water protectors, advocating for the protection of sacred sites and clean water, and calling for the suspension of pipeline construction;

Whereas Representative Grijalva was a foremost proponent of protecting the Grand Canyon, and worked tirelessly with Tribes to protect it, including introducing the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2008, to prohibit new uranium mining across 1 million acres of public lands in watersheds surrounding Grand Canyon National Park, and in 2012 President Obama announced a moratorium on mining in the 1 million acres, later introducing the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, the Grand Canyon Protection Act, and finally the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument Act, and in 2023 President Biden announced designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument to permanently protect and preserves the rich cultural, ecological, scientific, historic, and scenic value of the greater Grand Canyon landscape;

Whereas Representative Grijalva championed landmark legislation such as the Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act, Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act, the Tribal Heritage and American Bison, Grizzly Bear, and Wolf Restoration and Coexistence Act, which aimed to elevate Tribal stewardship of public lands and safeguard sacred sites, the Native Child Protection Act, addressing critical protections for Native children and families, and legislation to extend Federal employee health benefits to employees of urban Indian health organizations and Tribal colleges and universities;

Whereas Representative Grijalva was a leader for Tribal education on the House Committee on Education and Workforce working to strengthen educational opportunities for Native students, including his leadership to support Native Head Start, Tribal language preservation, and the Udall Foundation;

Whereas Representative Grijalva consistently advocated for addressing the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, leading resolutions to designate National Days of Awareness and bringing national attention to this critical issue;

Whereas Representative Grijalva introduced legislation to resolve Tribal water rights settlements, aiming to provide safe and clean water to Tribal nations and communities, addressing long-standing issues of water access in Indian Country;

Whereas Representative Grijalva worked to address the mental health crisis by introducing the Native American Suicide Prevention Act, bipartisan legislation that was signed into law to help address the disproportionately high rates of suicide in Native communities by ensuring Tribal involvement in the development of prevention strategies;

Whereas Representative Grijalva helped convene the first full committee hearings to examine Tribal land dispossession by the United States Government and their impacts;

Whereas Representative Grijalva secured inclusion of Tribal nations in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization to protect women, children, and elders;

Whereas Representative Grijalva consistently advocated for the inclusion of Native communities in Federal climate resilience initiatives and infrastructure investments, recognizing that they are on the frontlines of climate change and environmental degradation;

Whereas Representative Grijalva developed relationships with many Tribal nations and was considered a closely trusted friend and congressional partner; and

Whereas Representative Grijalva’s unwavering commitment to environmental justice and climate action was deeply rooted in his respect for indigenous leadership and knowledge: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That—

(1) the House of Representatives commemorates and celebrates the extraordinary contributions of Raúl M. Grijalva, honoring his legacy of service, dedication, and unwavering advocacy for the people of Arizona and indigenous communities across the country; and

(2) this resolution serves as a testament to his work for the people of Arizona’s 7th Congressional district and lifetime of dedication to issues impacting Indian Country.