[Senate Hearing 111-97]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 111-97
NOMINATION OF LARRY J. ECHO HAWK TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN
AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 7, 2009
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota, Chairman
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Vice Chairman
DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
KENT CONRAD, North Dakota LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska
JON TESTER, Montana
TOM UDALL, New Mexico
_____, _____
Allison C. Binney, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
David A. Mullon Jr., Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held on May 7, 2009...................................... 1
Statement of Senator Barrasso.................................... 40
Statement of Senator Bennett..................................... 7
Statement of Senator Conrad...................................... 8
Statement of Senator Crapo....................................... 6
Statement of Senator Dorgan...................................... 1
Statement of Senator Inouye...................................... 4
Statement of Senator McCain...................................... 44
Statement of Senator Tester...................................... 43
Statement of Senator Udall....................................... 39
Witnesses
Coby, Hon. Alonzo, Chairman, Fort Hall Business Council for the
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes........................................ 9
Prepared statement........................................... 10
Echo Hawk, Larry J., Nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior....................... 11
Prepared statement........................................... 13
Biographical information..................................... 16
Appendix
Echo Hawk, Larry J., Brigham Young University devotional address. 51
Response to written questions submitted to Larry J. Echo Hawk by:
Hon. Daniel K. Akaka......................................... 71
Hon. John Barrasso........................................... 64
Hon. Maria Cantwell.......................................... 72
Hon. Tom Coburn, M.D......................................... 74
Hon. Byron L. Dorgan......................................... 57
Hon. Dianne Feinstein........................................ 84
Hon. John McCain............................................. 75
Hon. Jon Tester.............................................. 78
Hon. Tom Udall............................................... 82
Letters, in support of the nomination of Larry J. Echo Hawk:
American Indian Law Center, Inc.............................. 86
California Indian Legal Services............................. 88
Cherokee Nation.............................................. 90
Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation................................................ 96
Confederate Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians 99
Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians......................... 100
Kootenai Tribe of Idaho...................................... 101
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.......................... 102
Mohegan Tribe of Indians..................................... 103
National Congress of American Indians........................ 91
National Indian Education Association........................ 94
Osage Nation................................................. 104
Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.................................... 105
Poarch Band of Creek Indians................................. 95
Pueblo of Jemez.............................................. 106
Puyallup Tribe of Indians.................................... 110
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.................... 98
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.................... 111
Tulalip Tribes............................................... 112
United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc......................... 89
NOMINATION OF LARRY J. ECHO HAWK TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN
AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE
INTERIOR
----------
THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2009
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:20 p.m. in room
628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Byron L. Dorgan,
Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BYRON L. DORGAN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA
The Chairman. I bring this Committee to order. This is a
hearing of the Indian Affairs Committee in the United States
Senate. We are gathered today to examine the President's
nomination of Larry Echo Hawk to serve as Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs at the Department of Interior.
We have a vote occurring right now, so some of our
colleagues will be delayed just a bit, but we appreciate the
opportunity to have Mr. Echo Hawk with us today.
Let me just remind my colleagues that Yvette Roubideaux
last evening was confirmed as the head of the Indian Health
Service. We reported that nomination out of this Committee last
week, so last evening that nomination was confirmed by the
United States Senate. That is a very important thing to have
happen. I am so pleased that she is willing to serve.
And not only is she confirmed now by the United States, but
today we take up the nomination of Larry Echo Hawk. My hope
would be that this Committee will be able to following today
receive all of the papers that have been sent to us, and at the
business meeting next week now scheduled for this Committee,
take action on Mr. Echo Hawk's nomination and then move it to
the floor of the Senate where I hope it can be acted on very
quickly.
I want to state at the start of this hearing my strong
support for Mr. Echo Hawk's nomination. He has a strong
background in Indian affairs managing the legal team and legal
issues for the State of Idaho as Attorney General, and he has
dedicated his career to education and to the improvement of the
lives of Indian people.
A background in education, public safety and management are
sorely needed at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs. I have spoken previously from this dais about
the unbelievable bureaucracy that exists in the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. I have sometimes described dealing with the BIA
very much like walking through wet cement. It is pretty slow
going.
I want the BIA to work. I want it to work well for the
benefit of the first Americans, American Indians. And we have
had I think in the last eight years, half of those years we
have been without an Assistant Secretary to run the BIA. That
is just a tragic failure.
And so I am strongly supportive of Mr. Echo Hawk, and want
him to be confirmed as soon as possible to take the reins at
the BIA and begin a significant management effort to use the
funding that is available to improve the lives of American
Indians.
I just was looking at four of the past eight years that we
have not had an Assistant Secretary. It is even more shameful.
The United States Government holds treaty and trust
responsibilities and obligations to Indian tribes and the
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is the
primary official in the Department of the Interior that is
tasked with upholding these obligations. Through oversight of
the BIA and other offices, the Assistant Secretary is
responsible for providing education services, public safety,
and economic opportunity to the Country's 562 Indian tribes.
Sadly, it is news to no one that many tribal communities
lag far behind the rest of the Nation in all three of those
categories. It is I think a very difficult situation to take a
look at education, housing and health care on a lot of
reservations and understand that the first Americans are often
getting second choice in education, housing and health care,
and that should not be the case.
I had a long discussion with Mr. Echo Hawk about the issue
of health care, education and housing. Health care, of course,
is principally Indian Health Service, but the BIA will also
play a role in that. We also talked about the issue of justice
and law enforcement, on which this Committee has held hearings.
The lack of economic opportunity on Indian reservations is
also very significant. We have unemployment rates averaging 50
percent for decades. In the Great Plains region, the
reservation unemployment is over 70 percent. This chart shows
some of those numbers. And we need to change that.
I am confident that Mr. Echo Hawk will provide the
leadership that the BIA has needed for far too long. His
nomination has the support of the National Congress of American
Indians, many Indian tribes and organizations, and as this
Committee will soon hear, he has strong support from Members of
the United States Senate.
Before I recognize the Vice Chairman, I want to clarify the
process again for moving forward with the nomination. Mr. Echo
Hawk, Members of this Committee will hear your testimony, your
statement today, following which we will ask questions of you
this afternoon and perhaps more will be submitted to you in
writing. Once we have received responses to those questions,
which I would hope would be in a day or two, we will seek to
report out your nomination at the next scheduled business
meeting.
I have not consulted with all the Members of the Committee
on that yet, but my hope would be and my expectation would be
that we would be able to do that.
The Chairman. We are joined by the Vice Chairman of the
Committee, Senator Barrasso. Let me recognize Senator Barrasso
for an opening statement.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I do have an opening statement with a number of colleagues
here who I know their time is limited, I would like to defer to
them with your permission, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Without objection.
And let me say that we have Senator Inouye with us, the
former Chairman of this Committee. We are delighted he is here.
And then Senator Crapo and Senator Bennett both wish to make
statements as well.
So Senator Inouye, you, I believe, have to be at the
Capitol at 2:30. Let me recognize you, and welcome you again to
the Committee.
STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. INOUYE,
U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII
Senator Inouye. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and
Members of the Committee.
I am honored to present to the Committee a very
distinguished American who was just nominated by the President
of the United States to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior, Mr. Larry Echo
Hawk.
Mr. Chairman, I have known the members of the Echo Hawk
family for over two decades. I first came to know Larry Echo
Hawk's older brother John, who has had a long and distinguished
career serving the native people of this land, including his
service as the Executive Director of the Native American Rights
Fund.
Then I met John's and Larry's sister Lucille, who I believe
still works with the Casey Family Foundation on the critically
important matters associated with Indian child welfare.
And then just about 20 years ago, I had the privilege of
meeting Larry Echo Hawk, who was then serving as the Attorney
General of Idaho, and who to the best of my knowledge was the
first Native American to serve as Attorney General in any of
our 50 States.
And at that time, this Committee was engaged in ongoing
dialogue with Governors and Attorneys General from the States
in which Indian gaming was being conducted under the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act and tribal government leaders from each
of these States.
In the course of that year-long effort, I came to know a
few of the Attorneys General such as the distinguished Senator
from New Mexico and a Member of this Committee, Senator Tom
Udall, who was then serving as Attorney General of New Mexico.
We spent a lot of time together over that year, and from Tom
and others I learned that a very interesting dynamic had taken
place when Larry Echo Hawk first joined the ranks of the
States' chief legal officers.
I was told at first the Attorneys General were a bit
uncomfortable about having a person of Indian descent in their
midst. After all, relations between the State and tribal
governments had not always been the best, to say the least. And
other Attorneys General readily acknowledged that their
discussions about their relations with Indian Country were not
always filled with happiness.
But apparently as these Attorneys General came to know
Larry Echo Hawk, they realized that some of their perceptions
of Indian people and Indian Country were not based on personal
experience, but based on something closer to biased cultural
stereotypes. They told me that Larry's integrity and
intelligence had impressed them and that they had come to know
him as an Attorney General who was not so different than they
were, and who clearly felt that his responsibility as chief
legal officer of Idaho was to all the citizens, all the
citizens of the State of Idaho.
The fact that Larry was of native ancestry was not
something that Larry brought to the table, but over time the
fact that his native ancestry helped him become more sensitive
to how they spoke about Indian people and how they interacted
with tribal leaders.
Each of the Members of this Committee have all of Echo
Hawk's biographical information and his record of professional
experience before us, so I will not take your time to repeat
what is known about this person.
But for those of you in the audience today, I think you
should know that Larry Echo Hawk earned his law degree in 1973
from the University of Utah, and following graduate business
studies at Stanford. Larry began his legal career working for
the California Indian Legal Services Program, and thereafter
worked for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian
Reservation for eight years.
I mention this aspect of his early professional life
because I believe that Larry Echo Hawk is not only a man who is
deeply rooted in the values that we all share and respect, but
a man who understands the many challenges that Indian Country
has been confronted with throughout our long history as a
Nation.
Larry Echo Hawk is an enrolled member of the Pawnee Tribe
and like so many of our great Indian leaders, he volunteered
his service to our Country in the U.S. Marine Corps. For the
past 14 years, Larry Echo Hawk has served as a law professor on
the faculty of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young
University. A review of his published works over the past 17
years makes very clear that Larry has always remained deeply
interested in and committed to addressing issues of importance
and concern to Indian Country.
I believe that Larry Echo Hawk is extraordinarily well
prepared by his life experience and his long professional
career in the law to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs in President Obama's Administration. And therefore I am
delighted and proud today to have the honor of introducing
Larry Echo Hawk to the Members of this Committee.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Senator Inouye, thank you very much.
Again, you serve on this Committee, but have been Chairman
for many years of this Committee and your thoughts and advice
are really valuable to us. We appreciate very much your
testimony.
Senator Inouye. I would like to have your permission, Mr.
Chairman, to leave because I have another meeting to attend,
and I regret I can't stay here.
The Chairman. We thank you very much for being here,
Senator Inouye.
Senator Inouye. Thank you.
The Chairman. Senator Crapo, who is a personal friend from
Idaho, I am going to call on him, and then Senator Bennett to
discuss a fellow Utahan.
So let me call on the two of them who have requested the
opportunity to speak.
STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE CRAPO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO
Senator Crapo. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Senator
Barrasso. I truly appreciate the opportunity to introduce my
personal friend, Larry Echo Hawk, today to the Committee on
this important occasion.
I am pleased that President Obama has nominated Larry for
the important position of Assistant Secretary of Interior for
Indian Affairs. Our fellow Idahoans are rightly proud that some
of his greatest political and professional successes have been
during his time in Idaho, and I congratulate Larry and his wife
Terry and their children and grandchildren on this distinct
honor for this selection.
Larry's diverse background and professional experiences
make him an outstanding candidate for this position. Although
his Pawnee Tribe background has made him many times a first in
elective office, Larry's real legacy is the high regard in
which he is held by so many who have worked with him.
Larry served as Bannock County Prosecuting Attorney and as
a two-term member of the Idaho State House of Representatives.
He and I served in the State Legislature together, he as a
member of the House and I as a member of the Senate, until the
time that he then ran for and was elected to be the Attorney
General of the State of Idaho.
And I remember times sitting down at dinner after a
legislative session in Boise, Idaho and talking about how to
improve government, just as Larry and I have the opportunity to
do so a couple of nights ago here in Washington, D.C.
I know him and his work well, and his commitment. I am very
confident in his service.
Since his time in elective office, Larry has taught
criminal law and Native American law at Brigham Young
University, which is our alma mater, where I understand you
also played football. And Larry is also the Senior Partner of
the Echo Hawk Law Offices, which have among their clients the
Shoshone-Bannock Tribe of Fort Hall Indian Reservation in
Idaho, to which you have been I think General Counsel since
1977.
The challenge for the Bureau of Indian Affairs remains the
same as it ever was: to do as much as possible to fulfill the
trustee responsibility of the Federal Government for the Native
Americans. Unfortunately, I agree with the Chairman. While so
much has been done, for too long now this trustee
responsibility has suffered through periods characterized by
confusion, neglect, underfunding, conflict and
miscommunication.
While much has been done in recent years to address the
historic problems plaguing the Bureau-administered programs, so
much more needs to be done. Per person outlays for tribal
health services, while never a perfect measure of a program's
effectiveness, lag well behind comparative funding through
Medicare and Medicaid. Investments in tribal education,
justice, housing and transportation are also chronically short-
changed.
And I realize we can't expect that Larry will change this
overnight, but I am confident that he will make great strides
in improving this circumstance, and look forward to working
with him.
Funding issues are not the only way to help our tribes.
Appropriate respect for sovereignty is also a persistent
challenge that the Federal Government can help promote by
example. In our State, the federally recognized tribes have
demonstrated tribal capacity to be a real player in problem
solving.
The Nez Perce Tribe provides the monitoring of wolf
recovery on behalf of the Federal and State governments. The
Kootenai Tribe is the first tribe to sign an MOU with the
Department of Homeland Security to use its identity cards for
valid cross-border travel, and manages important salmon
hatcheries that help us recover endangered fish stocks.
The Shoshone-Paiutes in Southwest Idaho played a major part
in bringing to fruition to Owyhee Initiative Management statute
that we just passed here in the Senate. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe
remains a major partner in the implementation of the Lake
Management Plan for Coeur d'Alene. And the Shoshone-Bannock
Tribes, as Larry knows well, are a major leader in the
environmental protection of Southeast Idaho.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I believe Larry
Echo Hawk has the background and the temperament to bring
proper attention to the needs and the problems facing our
Nation's tribes. His service in the public and in the private
sector, as well as his role as a Native American pioneer,
demonstrate the capacity to do well in the difficult position
of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.
As a fellow Idahoan and an advocate for Idaho's tribes, I
am pleased to present Larry Echo Hawk to the Committee for
Senate consideration. If he is confirmed, I look forward to
working with him again in his new position to promote the needs
of Native Americans.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Senator Crapo, thank you very much.
Senator Bennett?
STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT F. BENNETT,
U.S. SENATOR FROM UTAH
Senator Bennett. Thank you for the opportunity, Mr.
Chairman, to be with you.
You have heard the background of the nominee. I would just
point out that he first came to Utah to play football at BYU on
a scholarship, and then he earned his juris doctor from the
University of Utah. That is a little like playing for Harvard
and then getting your law degree from Yale, or going to UCLA
and then graduating from USC. Whatever. And if he can bridge
that gap, he is qualified to negotiate just about anything.
[Laughter.]
Senator Bennett. So he has had a distinguished career in
Idaho, as has been described, but he is also had a
distinguished teaching career in Utah at the J. Reuben Clark
Law School at Brigham Young.
So he brings a wide range of skills and activities to this.
It is not just his training. It is his life experience that I
think qualify him for this. And I expect he will bring a fresh
approach to the department. There are not too many people who
serve in the Executive Branch who have won an election, first
to a State legislature and then to an executive assignment as
Attorney General. Understanding those aspects of government is
an experience that I think will serve him very well now that he
is at the Federal level.
He has an understanding of the differences between tribal
rights and sovereignty and States' rights. He has represented
tribes as an advocate, and then has dealt with the problems
himself as a teacher as he has had to look at all of the
aspects of it.
So I consider him a dedicated public servant and an
excellent choice for this assignment, and I am pleased on
behalf of his friends and colleagues in the State of Utah to
add my voice to the chorus that is saying let's get him
confirmed and in place as quickly as we possibly can.
The Chairman. Senator Bennett, thank you.
Senator Conrad?
STATEMENT OF HON. KENT CONRAD,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA
Senator Conrad. Just very briefly, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, thank you for holding this hearing. This is a
position that has been open now for about a year, so it is
critically important that we act quickly and that we get this
right. I think with the nomination of Larry Echo Hawk, we have
the chance to get this right.
I have been very impressed by what I have learned of his
reputation and his professional career. That is just confirmed
by hearing from our colleagues, Senator Crapo who knows him
personally, and of course Senator Bennett from Utah, a State
where Mr. Echo Hawk has been so involved.
I had a chance to meet with Mr. Echo Hawk yesterday and we
talked about a whole series of issues critically important in
Indian Country in my State, but more than just my State, across
the Country as well: education, economic development, health
care, housing, energy development. These issues, along with law
enforcement and many others, we had a chance to visit about
yesterday.
One of the things I would like to say to Mr. Echo Hawk is
we just had Secretary Salazar come to our State last month, and
had a meeting with the leaders of our tribes. He had a first-
hand chance to see the challenges that we are confronting in
North Dakota. I hope after your confirmation that at an early
opportunity you will have a chance to come to our State and
visit personally. We would certainly welcome you.
I really am encouraged that somebody of your quality and
your character is willing to take up this challenge. I believe
this is one of the toughest jobs in Federal Government. I said
that to you yesterday, and I think you are equal to it.
So all of us I think are willing and eager to work with you
to make improvements and to have a significant step forward for
Indian Country. I know I certainly have that feeling, and again
thank you, Mr. Echo Hawk, for being willing to take on this
responsibility.
The Chairman. Senator Conrad, thank you very much.
Mr. Echo Hawk, we will get to you, but first we are going
to hear from the Chairman of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe in Fort
Hall, Idaho, the Honorable Alonzo Coby.
STATEMENT OF HON. ALONZO COBY, CHAIRMAN, FORT HALL BUSINESS
COUNCIL FOR THE SHOSHONE-BANNOCK TRIBES
Mr. Coby. Good afternoon, Chairman Dorgan, Vice Chairman
Barrasso, Senator Crapo and other Members of the Committee.
Again, I am Alonzo Coby. I am the Chairman of the Fort Hall
Business Council, which is a governing body of the Shoshone-
Bannock Tribes located in Southeastern Idaho. Our enrolled
membership is 5,300 tribal members and our reservation is
544,000 acres of land, of which 98 percent is held in trust
status. We are very proud of that.
The reason I am here today, I am very honored and
privileged to introduce and express strong support for the
nomination of Larry Echo Hawk as Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs. As you know, the United States Government and its
agencies have an important trust relationship with Indian
tribes. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes look forward to the Federal
Government to fulfill its trust responsibilities in the areas
of environmental protection, law enforcement, health,
education, trust reform, treaty rights, and other important
areas.
The issues I mention are pressing issues in Indian Country
and the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs plays a critical
role in addressing these issues. Larry is uniquely qualified
for this job. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes fully support Larry.
I know the other Idaho tribe also support his nomination.
Larry began representing the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in
1977 and served for nearly nine years as the tribe's Chief
Counsel. He provided diligent and faithful services during
these years and has his boys, Paul and Mark, and I am very
blessed to have the as our legal counsel.
During his time as the tribal attorney, he also served two
terms in the Idaho legislature and worked hand in hand with the
Idaho tribal leaders in Idaho to advance tribal interests.
Larry played a significant role in the Idaho legislature on
passage of many laws that respected tribal sovereignty such as
the Tribal-State Relations Act, Federal Site Protections Act,
and legislation to authorize State agencies to enter into
agreements with tribal governments.
Much of this was brought about due to his efforts to create
the State Indian Affairs Committee. In 1986, he became the
prosecuting attorney for Bannock County, Idaho's fourth-largest
county that borders the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. He
demonstrated a continual respect for the tribal sovereignty.
In 1990, he was elected as Idaho's Attorney General and
became the first Native American in United States history to
become elected to statewide office. As Attorney General, he
supported legislative efforts to protect native religious
freedom, treaty rights, and other matters impacting tribes. He
also led efforts to improve State-Tribal relations to the
Conference of Western Attorneys General. Although he served as
a State attorney, the door was always open to Idaho tribes.
I thank the Committee for expediting the consideration of
Mr. Echo Hawk's nomination and urge the Senate to confirm his
as quickly as possible, given all the urgent needs in Indian
Country that on hold pending his confirmation.
And again, thank you for the opportunity to let me
introduce Mr. Echo Hawk and I express our support for his
nomination.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Coby follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Alonzo Coby, Chairman, Fort Hall Business
Council for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
Good afternoon Chairman Dorgan, Vice-Chairman Barrasso, Senator
Crapo, and other Members of the Committee. My name is Alonzo Coby and I
serve as Chairman of the Fort Hall Business Council, which is the
governing body of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes located on the Fort Hall
Indian Reservation in southeast Idaho. I am honored to be here today to
introduce and express support for the nomination of Larry Echo Hawk as
the next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are a federally recognized Indian tribe
organized under Sections 16 and 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act of
1934. The Shoshone and Bannock people are comprised of several related
bands whose aboriginal territories include land in what are now the
states of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, and parts of
Montana and California. In 1867, President Andrew Johnson by Executive
Order designated the Fort Hall Indian Reservation for various Shoshone
and Bannock bands that occupied the area since time immemorial. On July
3, 1868, the Shoshone and Bannock Tribes concluded the Second Treaty of
Fort Bridger, which was ratified by the United States Senate on
February 24, 1869. Article 4 of the Fort Bridger treaty reserved the
Reservation as a ``permanent home'' to the signatory tribes. Although
the Fort Bridger Treaty called for the Reservation to be approximately
1.8 million acres, various ``surveying errors'' in 1873 reduced its
actual size to approximately 1.2 million acres.
One of the United States' purposes in setting aside the Fort Hall
Indian Reservation was to protect the Tribes' rights and to preserve
for them a home where their tribal relations might be enjoyed under
shelter of authority of the United States. Subsequent cession
agreements with the United States reduced the Fort Hall Indian
Reservation to the present day size of 544,000 acres. Of the 544,000
acres, 97% of the land is Tribal land or held by the United States for
the benefit of the Tribes or its individual members. The Tribes'
territory is the largest Reservation in Idaho and forms a large
cohesive geographic area that supports a population of over 6,000
people and provides an irreplaceable homeland for economic activity and
cultural practices based on strong religious traditions premised on the
sacredness of land. Our current Tribal enrollment is approximately
5,300 members.
The Fort Hall Reservation is blessed with an extensive biodiversity
including rangelands, croplands, forests, streams, three major rivers
(the Snake, Blackfoot, and Portneuf), reservoirs, springs, and wetland
areas, an abundance of medicinal and edible plants, wildlife (elk,
deer, moose, bison, big horn sheep, etc.), various species of fish,
birds, and other animal life. The Reservation lands are mountainous and
semi-desert, and overlays the Snake River aquifer, a large groundwater
resource. The culture and continued existence of the Shoshone and
Bannock peoples depend on these resources.
As you know, the United States government and its agencies have an
important trust relationship with Indian tribes. The Shoshone-Bannock
Tribes look to the federal government to fulfill this trust
responsibility in areas of environmental protection, law enforcement,
health, education, trust reform, land management, protection of treaty
rights, and other important areas.
The issues of concern I have mentioned are among many that are
common to Indian Country. Larry Echo Hawk is uniquely qualified to
address them as the next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. The
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes fully support Larry Echo Hawk and have full
confidence in his strong commitment to Tribal sovereignty and Indian
interests. I note that other Idaho tribes have also voiced their
support for Mr. Echo Hawk's nomination.
Mr. Echo Hawk began representing the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in
1977 and served for nearly nine years as the Tribes' chief general
legal counsel. At that time, he was one of the first Native American
lawyers entrusted with the responsibility as the primary attorney for a
large Indian tribe. He provided diligent and faithful service during
these years. During his time as Tribal Attorney, he also served two
terms in the Idaho legislature and worked hand-in-hand with Tribal
leaders in Idaho to advance tribal interests. It was during his time in
the legislature that positive laws respecting tribal sovereignty were
passed for the first time in Idaho history, and Mr. Echo Hawk played a
significant role in their passage. These laws include the State-Tribal
Relations Act, the Tribal tobacco sales tax exemption, the Indian
Antiquities and Burial Site Protection Act, and the amendment to the
State Joint Powers Act to authorize state agencies to enter into
agreements with Tribal governments, to name a few. Much of this was
brought about due to Mr. Echo Hawk's efforts to help create a State
Indian Affairs Committee.
He ended his position as the Tribes' general legal counsel in 1986
on good terms with the Tribes to become the prosecuting attorney for
Bannock County, Idaho's fourth largest county that borders the Fort
Hall Reservation. While he served as prosecutor, he demonstrated a
continual respect for tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction by deferring
cases to the Tribes that could have been prosecuted under Public 280.
In 1990 he was elected as Idaho's Attorney General, and became the
first Native American in United States history to be elected to a
state-wide constitutional political office. As Attorney General, he
supported legislation and efforts to protect native religious freedoms,
salmon treaty fishing rights, and other legal matters impacting tribal
sovereignty. While Attorney General, Mr. Echo Hawk also lead efforts to
improve state-tribal relations through the Conference of Western
Attorneys General. Although he served as the State's attorney, the door
was always open Idaho tribes.
The Echo Hawk law firm has provided nearly ten years of legal
services to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and continues to provide
excellent legal services. While we recognize that Mr. Echo Hawk's prior
service as the Tribes' legal counsel and work with the Echo Hawk law
firm may require his recusal from working on issues directly relating
to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, we are confident that Mr. Echo Hawk's
service as Assistant Secretary will be beneficial to all of Indian
Country.
In sum, we are proud to support Larry Echo Hawk's nomination as the
next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. We are confident that he
will do an outstanding job in continuing his efforts to advance Tribal
sovereignty and economic self-sufficiency. Thank you for this
opportunity to introduce Mr. Echo Hawk and express our support for his
nomination.
The Chairman. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Echo Hawk, those are very powerful recommendations we
have heard about you. The more friends one has, the longer the
Committee hearing takes, and you have a lot of friends
obviously.
[Laughter.]
The Chairman. Let me recognize you for your statement, and
say at the start of the statement if you have family members
present that you wish to introduce, please feel free to do that
at the start of your statement.
Mr. Echo Hawk, welcome.
STATEMENT OF LARRY J. ECHO HAWK, NOMINEE TO BE
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Mr. Echo Hawk. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Vice Chairman
Barrasso and Members of the Committee.
I am honored to appear before you today seeking your
confirmation for my nomination to serve as Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs.
I have with me today my wife Terry. We have been married
for more than 40 years. We have six children, five of which are
here today. Perhaps they could stand: Jenny, Paul, Mark, Matt
and Emily. Three of these handsome young men are lawyers. Law
is the family profession.
And also with me today are three of my siblings: Mary
Adamson, Lucille Echo Hawk and John Echo Hawk.
I am proud to say that members of my family have been
committed advocates for Native American people for many years.
I am a member of the Pawnee Nation and have been blessed
with a good education and a broad base of experience that I
believe qualifies me to serve as the next Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs.
I was born in Cody, Wyoming while my father worked in the
oil and gas business. My family eventually settled in
Farmington, New Mexico and I attended public schools in
Farmington through high school. Farmington is right across the
river from the largest Indian reservation in the United States,
the Navajo Nation.
I attended Brigham Young University on a football
scholarship and I think it is worthy of special mention that a
Federal program known as the Special Scholarship Program in Law
for American Indians made it possible for me to graduate from
law school at the University of Utah.
For 14 years after that graduation, I worked in the
practice of Indian law, first as a staff attorney for the
California Indian Legal Services in Northern California, and
then eventually I relocated back to Utah to start out as a sole
practitioner. My law practice was focused on representing
American Indians, and I built that law practice up to a seven-
attorney firm including six Native American lawyers.
In 1977, my goal was realized of becoming a tribal attorney
when I was selected by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to serve as
their Chief General Legal Counsel. And I believe that I was one
of the first Native American lawyers to ever be entrusted with
the responsibility to represent a large Indian Nation, and I
appreciate the confidence that they displayed in me.
As an Indian law practitioner, I learned about the
challenges facing Native American communities and the complex
system of laws that affect the lives of people living within
Indian reservations.
It was during that time that I served as a senior lawyer
for the tribe that I was elected to the Idaho House of
Representatives, and I seized that opportunity to address many
contentious and complex issues of law relating to water rights,
civil and criminal jurisdiction, natural resources, wildlife
management, health and welfare services, taxation, and Tribal-
State relations. I enjoyed those years, and we made progress.
My full-time work in Indian law, however, concluded in 1986
when I decided to make a career change. I was appointed as the
attorney for Idaho's fourth-largest county. That county had
boundaries that reached inside of the Fort Hall Indian
Reservation, so for the next four years I served as a
prosecuting attorney. It was thereafter that I was elected as
the Attorney General of Idaho and served a four-year term, and
then for the last 14 years I have worked as a professor of law.
That is a broad array of experiences that gave me
management skills, an understanding of political process, and a
knowledge of Federal Indian law that I think would help me to
succeed in the broad scope of responsibilities as the Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs if I am confirmed.
I know I would face a daunting task. The challenges facing
Native American people are great. It would be my approach as I
have always felt within my heart, as well as my mind, and the
study of law has taught me, is to recognize that Native
American tribes are nations of people entitled to a government-
to-government relationship with the United Stats.
And the United States carries a very solemn responsibility.
We call it a trust responsibility to look after the political
integrity and the welfare of the native nations, to safeguard
their lands and resources, and to make their homelands
productive.
And I know that this Committee is well aware of the
challenging problems faced by Native Americans and Alaska
Natives throughout this Country. The ones that I would mention
very briefly would be economic development, education, and
public safety in Indian communities.
As I say that, I remember the many times that I have been
within Indian reservation communities. In my mind's eye, I can
see the faces of people, people that I love and care for that
suffer the effects of poverty and the social ills that flow
from poverty.
My family has been blessed with education. I would see it
as my responsibility to do everything that I can to see that
every American Indian and Alaska Native youth receives an
opportunity for a quality education and a good job and economic
prosperity.
And I know full well, as a former prosecutor, of the
terrible problems that exist when crime is high. It affects
people's lives. We must do something about the violence that
occurs in Indian Country, about the violence that occurs in the
lives of Indian women, about the abuse and neglect suffered by
Indian children, and substance abuse that robs the future
promise of the next generation.
I know that this is a difficult job, Chairman Dorgan and
Members of this Committee, but I pledge to you to work
tirelessly and faithfully in executing my responsibilities, and
working together with Members of this Committee to truly make a
difference in the lives of people in need.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement and biographical information of Mr.
Echo Hawk follow:]
Prepared Statement of Larry J. Echo Hawk, Nominee to be Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
Introduction
Chairman Dorgan, Vice-Chairman Barrasso and Members of the
Committee, I am honored to appear before you today seeking your
confirmation of my nomination by President Barack Obama to serve as the
next Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs.
I would like to introduce members of my immediate family who are
present:
My wife: Terry.
Five of my six children: Jenny, Paul, Mark, Matt and Emily.
And three of my siblings: Mary Adamson, Lucille Echo Hawk, and
John Echo Hawk.
I am proud to say that members of my family have been committed
advocates for Native American people for many years.
I am a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. The Pawnee people
originally resided in what is now the state of Nebraska, but in 1874
they were removed from their homeland and placed on a reservation in
the Oklahoma Indian Territory.
I have been blessed with a good education and a broad base of
experience that I believe qualifies me to serve as the Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs.
I was born in Cody, Wyoming while my father was working as a land
surveyor in the oil and gas business. My family settled in Farmington,
New Mexico and I attended public schools there from first grade through
high school. Thereafter, I attended Brigham Young University on a
football scholarship.
The Special Scholarship Program in Law for American Indians made it
possible for me to graduate from the University of Utah, College of
Law, in 1973. For 14 years after graduating from law school I was
engaged in the practice of Indian law.
I began by working for impoverished Indian people as a lawyer for
California Indian Legal Services. I then returned to Salt Lake City,
Utah and built a private law practice centered upon representation of
American Indians. In 1977 I was selected by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
to be their Chief General Legal Counsel. I served in that position for
8\1/2\ years.
As an Indian law practitioner I learned about the challenges facing
Native American communities and the complex system of laws that affect
the lives of people living on Indian reservations. While serving as the
senior attorney for Idaho's largest Indian tribe, I was elected to the
Idaho House of Representatives. As a member of the Idaho Legislature I
seized the opportunity to address contentious and complex issues
relating to criminal law enforcement, water rights, zoning and land
use, natural resources, wildlife management, health and welfare
services, education, taxation and tribal-state governmental relations.
Although my full-time work in Indian law ended in 1986 when I was
appointed as the Prosecuting Attorney for Bannock County, Idaho, I
continued to have some involvement with federal Indian law up to the
present time. As a Prosecuting Attorney, I addressed civil and criminal
jurisdictional issues involving tribal, state and federal authorities.
As Attorney General of Idaho, my office was required to handle
significant matters involving Indian religious freedom, water rights,
criminal law enforcement, gaming, environmental regulation, tribal
civil and criminal jurisdiction, and treaty hunting and fishing rights.
And, for the past 14 years my teaching load as a Professor of Law has
included courses on Federal Indian Law, and my scholarly research and
writing has centered on Indian law topics.
This broad array of experiences has helped me develop the
management skills, understanding of political processes, and knowledge
of federal Indian law I will need to successfully address the broad
scope of responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs.
When I was asked to accept the President's nomination to serve as
Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, I quickly concluded that
accepting was the right thing to do. If confirmed, I will have an
opportunity to serve my country in providing a broad measure of
services to many Indian communities.
Issues
If confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, I will face
a daunting task. The challenges facing American Indians and Alaska
Natives are great. I highlight the following subjects as a few of the
areas that will require special attention for the next Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs:
Economic Development
Many Native American communities are among the poorest segments of
the population in the United States. As an example, 8 out of 10 poorest
counties in the United States are within Indian reservations.
The rate of unemployment of Native Americans is the highest of any
ethnic group in America. People are alarmed when unemployment rates
hover around 8% for the general population, but within some areas of
Indian Country the rate of unemployment is nearly 80%.
The inclusion of Native Americans within the American Economic
Recovery and Reinvestment Act is good news. It is vitally important
that this economic stimulus be implemented quickly and effectively.
When Indians decide to develop their mineral and energy resources
on trust lands the Federal Government must act responsibly as trustee,
but it must avoid unnecessary delay in giving required authorization.
Gaming has brought much needed revenue to many of the 562 federally
recognized tribes. Indian gaming has created approximately 670,000 jobs
and provided $11 billion to federal and state governments. Tribal
revenue from gaming has been an important source of funding for
education, health care, law enforcement and other tribal services. If
confirmed, I will follow the law established by the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act and implement its regulatory framework in a reasonable
manner.
Education
American Indian and Alaska Native students score significantly
lower than their peers in reading and math. Native youth also
experience some of the highest high school dropout rates in the
country.
The federally supported Indian education system has responsibility
for educating 48,000 students at 183 schools. There must be an
improvement in test scores and dropout rates within this educational
system. Dilapidated school buildings must be repaired or replaced and
housing for school teachers must be improved.
Sustained economic development and prosperity cannot be achieved
without a well-educated workforce. Education must be improved at all
levels, including higher education.
Criminal Law Enforcement
The rate of aggravated assault against American Indians and Alaska
Natives is roughly twice that of the country as a whole. Violence
against Indian women and abuse of Indian children continue to be major
problems. Epidemic methamphetamine use is now occurring in many Indian
communities.
More criminal law enforcement officers are needed. Tribal courts
need adequate funding. Tribal judges, prosecutors and defenders need
better training. Jurisdictional gaps in the system of criminal law
enforcement within Indian Country needed to be fixed. United States
Attorneys need to be more active in prosecuting crime within Indian
Country.
If confirmed, I will use my extensive experience in criminal law
enforcement to fight crime and increase public safety in Native
American communities. This effort will include consultation with tribal
leaders and coordination with state and federal law enforcement
agencies. Additional resources must be made available for police
officers, judges, prosecutors, defenders, probation officers, courts,
detention facilities and training.
Trust Reform
The Cobell litigation has focused attention on the accountability
for management of trust assets. The Department of the Interior must
move forward in a responsible manner in the management of trust lands,
resources, and other assets. Although I will not personally participate
in the Cobell matter because members of my family have been involved in
the case, I may participate in general policy matters, including trust
reform, where it is appropriate and ethical to do so.
Tribal Recognition Process
The tribal recognition system is not working. The process of
reviewing and acting upon applications for federal recognition is
taking too much time. Applicants deserve a clear and timely procedure
that will yield fair results.
Land-Into-Trust
The Carcieri v. Kempthorne decision by the United States Supreme
Court appears to limit the Interior Secretary's authority under the
1934 Indian Reorganization Act to take lands into trust status on
behalf of a Tribe that was not under federal jurisdiction when the Act
was adopted. Many questions have arisen about the impact of this
decision and about how to best resolve those questions.
Health
Forty-percent of health care needs of Native Americans are unmet.
Many basic elements of good health care are lacking in Indian Country:
doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, addiction counselors, and
medical equipment and facilities. Native Americans suffer the highest
rate of Type 2 diabetes in the world. Indian youth are twice as likely
to commit suicide.
The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs does not have primary
responsibility for addressing health care needs, but services provided
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education are
indirectly connected to the provision of vital health care services.
The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs must be mindful and
supportive of the need to provide quality health care services.
Bureaucratic Inefficiency
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Bureau of Indian Education
(BIE) provide services to 562 of Indian tribes. This includes the
administration and management of 55.7 million acres of land held in
trust by the United States for American Indians and Alaska Natives. In
addition to the central offices of the BIA and BIE, there are 12
regional offices, and 85 agency and field offices.
The BIA and BIE have been criticized for not efficiently
administering their responsibilities. Attention must be given to
identifying areas of delay, mismanagement and neglect. Action must be
taken to improve the administration of trust responsibilities. There
must also be assurance that trust responsibilities are administered in
accordance with high ethical standards.
Other Issues
Other issues include the need to attain water settlements,
protection of Indian sacred sites and culture, and adequate housing.
Conclusion
If confirmed, I pledge to work cooperatively with the Senate Indian
Affairs Committee in addressing important issues that affect the lives
of American Indians and Alaska Natives. I will reach out to leaders of
tribal governments and listen carefully to their concerns and
recommendations. Furthermore, I pledge to work tirelessly and
faithfully in executing my duties and responsibilities. I am confident
that working together we can make significant progress in improving the
quality of life for all Native Americans and honor the solemn
commitments of the United States of America. I respectfully ask the
members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to vote to confirm my
nomination as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs.
______
The Chairman. Mr. Echo Hawk, thank you very much.
Before we begin questioning, and I will call on Senator
Barrasso for the first questions and I will defer to the end,
Senator Udall has come late because of another engagement, and
he is a personal friend of Mr. Echo Hawk, and asked consent to
make a statement. So let me call on Senator Udall.
STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO
Senator Udall. Thank you very much, Chairman Dorgan.
I was in the Chair from one to three, and I asked my cousin
Mark, who was behind me, to come 15 minutes early so I could
make it to your Committee. So thank you very much.
Before I talk about why Larry Echo Hawk is so qualified for
this position, I want to say a few quick words about how
committed he is to this job.
Larry is a law professor and many of you know that is a
pretty nice job. More importantly, as a former BYU quarterback,
Larry was named to be a faculty member who oversees the BYU
Athletics Department. So what I am saying is rather than
spending his days being worshiped by law students, publishing
groundbreaking articles, and watching college football games
from the 50-yard line, Larry has chosen to serve his Country in
the Interior Department. If that is not commitment, I don't
know what is.
[Laughter.]
Senator Udall. We are very lucky that Larry is so committed
to this position because I can think of nobody who is better
suited for it. Larry's resume speaks for itself, but Larry is
more than a very accomplished lawyer and public servant. He is
a deep and innovative thinker.
Larry grew up in Farmington, New Mexico, but I first got to
know him when we were both elected State Attorneys General in
1990. And at the time, Larry was the first Native American to
be elected to a statewide constitutional office anywhere in the
United States.
And Larry's path-breaking did not stop there. Shortly after
his election, he began to spread what at the time was a very
new idea: conflicts with tribes should not be settled in court.
Back then, State A.G.s were in court with tribes all the time.
Nobody won those cases because the bad blood on both sides
turned any outcome into a defeat. Larry was the first to say we
can do better, and he was right. And I followed Larry's advice,
and as a result New Mexico's relationship with our tribes was
more productive for everybody involved.
At BIA, we need somebody who can work with tribal
governments and tribal members with an attitude of respect, and
we need somebody who combines a deep knowledge of Indian issues
with the compassion that comes from common experience and
common culture. We need a great mind connected to a great
heart.
In short, we need Larry Echo Hawk and I hope the Members of
this Committee will join me in supporting his nomination to
this important post.
Good to see you here today, Larry, and I am happy to stay
here for the questioning.
Thank you for your courtesies, Chairman Dorgan.
The Chairman. Senator Udall, thank you very much.
Senator Barrasso?
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM WYOMING
Senator Barrasso. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
And congratulations, Mr. Echo Hawk. Congratulations to your
wonderful family. It is so good to have your wife here, the
children, your siblings, and thank you for taking the time
earlier today to come and visit with me. After that visit and
after hearing your incredible testimony, I think that clearly
you are the person for the job.
I appreciate your willingness to take on these many
challenges that face the next Assistant Secretary, because this
is a job that is by no means one that is easy, and I think you
recognize that completely. Whoever holds it will come to know
the true meaning of the word challenge.
It is a very important job, and I think that you really can
bring the intensity and the knowledge, as well as the
commitment and the ability to do the job well.
Incredible responsibility. You are going to be managing
9,300 employees within the Department of Interior's Bureau of
Indian Affairs. The position is responsible for an extensive
portfolio of activities and programs. The keys are what you
just mentioned: education, housing, law enforcement, land
management, economic development. These areas form the
essential components of any healthy community, including all of
the communities on reservations.
One of your articles from a few years ago recognized the
interrelationship of many of these components. You observed
that without certain basic components, serious risk factors can
develop and threaten the future of Indian communities. Those
risk factors include poverty, unemployment, family stresses,
violence, substance abuse, crime, things we talked about
earlier today.
Those factors today are all far too prevalent in many
Indian communities. I know you understand the situation. I know
it from your testimony. I know it from your life history. I
know it from our earlier visits. And you understand that these
are not simply statistics. They are not academic concepts.
These are the lives of people. And your voice actually slowed
down as I think you could actually visualize and see people
whose lives you now have been impacted as a result of all of
these factors.
So the job that you have been nominated for to me is more
challenging than it has ever been before and maybe more
challenging than anything else you have ever undertaken before.
Your background in prosecution, in law enforcement, in Indian
policy are going to serve you very well in this position.
Your background will help you coordinate BIA law
enforcement activities with other Federal agencies, as well as
with State and tribal and local law enforcement.
On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, as in many Indian
communities, we are seeing high amounts of crime. As a surgeon,
I have seen it directly in patients that I have operated on and
you have seen it in your past history. We have a police force
that would struggle to meet the needs of a community even half
its size. We talked about that earlier today.
Just this weekend, Fox News reported on law enforcement
actions by the Navajo Nation. The efforts focus on stemming
violence fueled by drugs, fueled by alcohol. These stories are
prominent across the Country in Indian communities, and to you
it is unacceptable and to all of us it is unacceptable. We need
to do better.
Indian communities struggle to build the components of a
healthy life, yet they can't depend on basic safety and basic
security today. So I hope you will be able to address these
needs aggressively, and not just in Wyoming, but nationwide.
There are also the problems that we have dealt with in this
community of management. If confirmed by the Senate, I suggest
that you thoroughly examine the agency under your command. I am
sure that most BIA employees are diligent, hard-working, and
dedicated to their jobs. I know that by and large BIA employees
provide outstanding service to Indian people. But this
Committee has received more than just a few complaints about
inefficiencies and waste within the agency. So I hope that you
make this efficiency and accountability issue within the BIA's
integral parts.
And I will just submit a couple of things that we have
talked about in writing so you can further explain it. There is
one specific issue in Wyoming, and I brought it up in the
Committee in the past, and it has to do with the Wind River
Reservation and irrigation. You may be aware that improvements
to the Wind River Reservation irrigation system have been
ongoing for some time. Congress actually appropriated money for
the project in 2006, 2007, with matching funds from the State
of Wyoming.
Yet the progress on the repairs has been extremely slow.
And it is not just in Wyoming. We have heard repeated stories
of this around the Country. Always a lot of contributing
factors, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs is one of those
contributing to the delays.
So I have been asking the department to look into this
matter since May of 2008, and we just got a response this week.
I am told that these four projects are ready for implementation
and if confirmed I would ask that you personally look in to
this matter and ensure that the work will be undertaken
promptly this year.
You are shaking your head yes, and I will take that as an
affirmative.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Barrasso, thank you very much for
bringing those matters to my attention. Since I have never
worked within the Federal Government, I don't have first-hand
knowledge about these sort of problems, but I have heard about
those problems and I would simply commit and pledge to you and
to the other Members of this Committee that I will do the very
best that I can to be diligent in making sure that we do not
have mismanagement and unnecessary delay in the important
responsibilities that are assigned to us.
Senator Barrasso. And another one of those is law
enforcement. As we have discussed, we have only two officers on
patrol in Wyoming on the Wind River Reservation patrolling
about two million acres of territory. And that is not a unique
situation.
So if confirmed, will you make adequate law enforcement
staffing levels throughout Indian Country one of your high
priorities?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Barrasso, this may be the area where
I can offer the greatest assistance based upon my experience
base in criminal law enforcement. I have a special interest,
experience. I teach in that area. And from my prior comments, I
think you know how strongly I feel about the impact of lack of
law enforcement is having on the lives of people. And I would
look forward to working with you and other Members of this
Committee to seriously address the deficiencies that are
occurring in our Native American communities when it comes to
crime.
Senator Barrasso. And finally, we have talked a little bit
about economic development. And the Chairman may ask additional
questions on energy development, because there is a wealth of
energy resources on Indian land, but development appears not to
be moving for a number of different reasons.
And if confirmed, are there things that you think you can
do to help improve implementation of energy programs and
address the barriers, things that are inhibiting the energy
development on Indian lands?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Barrasso, I will pledge to you that
I will do my best to make sure that the process moves forward
in an appropriate and timely manner. I would recognize that the
Department of Interior has responsibilities to meet since they
are the trustee over lands and resources. There is an important
function to perform, but it is intolerable to have unnecessary
delay. When tribal leaders make decisions to use their
resources to spark their economies, bring revenues and create
jobs, then I think the Federal Government has a responsibility
to move forward responsibly, but quickly, to make those
developments occur.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Mr. Echo Hawk.
And thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Senator Tester?
STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to welcome you, Larry. I appreciate the stop by my
office you did the other day.
I also want to welcome your family. I know that you don't
get to the position you are in without solid support from the
people around you and I want to thank not only you, but your
family for being here today and the support they have given you
to get to this position.
I guess we will get to the most important thing first, and
I visited with you a little bit about this in my office. But I
think it is critically important that the person in this
position get out to see as many areas of Indian Country as
possible in the United States. I would be more than happy to
help you in that regard with a visit to Montana. Would you be
willing to come out and see us?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Tester, I would very much like to
visit and learn more about your State and those Native American
communities there.
Senator Tester. I think your opening statement really
described many, if not all, the issues that we face in Montana
and for the most part throughout the Country.
On a couple of issues that are more local in nature, we
have the Cobell suit and we have recognition of the Little
Shell Tribe. In both of those issues, for reasons you don't
have to go into, but you have chosen to recuse yourself, and I
quite frankly appreciate that. But your staff or hopefully soon
to be your staff has indicated they can't make a decision on
either one of those until you are in charge, or somebody is in
charge in that position.
How is it going to be handled? How is Cobell going to be
handled if you recuse yourself and the staff says now we have
to have this guy here, and the same thing with the Little
Shell?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Tester, I have worked carefully and
closely with ethics officers in the Department of Interior, and
a recusal agreement has been drawn up and I have signed that,
and I will honor the provisions of that recusal document, which
means that there are certain cases and issues that I cannot
personally be involved in.
But I commit to you and to the Members of this Committee
that if confirmed I will make sure that there is a clearly
identified person, in all likelihood the Principal Deputy in
the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, who
will have responsibility to make decisions and move those
issues forward.
Senator Tester. Thank you for that. I can tell you that in
both, in both, timeliness is an issue. And I will tell you
especially in the Little Shell. They have been at it for 31
years. They need to get a decision and I appreciate the fact
that you will be pushing that forward.
Budgets, have you had an opportunity to look at the budget
at all? And if you have, what is your opinion of it? I am
talking about your budget, not the overall budget, the budget
for your department.
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Tester, I have not had the
opportunity to examine carefully the budget for the office, but
I would commit to you, Senator Tester, and the other Members of
this Committee that I will be an advocate for the needs of
native communities in various things that we have talked about.
I served during my time in the Idaho legislature on the
Appropriations Committee. I know about the appropriations
process. I don't know all of the details about the Federal
process. I know that I can be a person that advocates and
recommends certain funding levels for particular matters, but I
know that I will not have the final say, but I commit to you
that I will definitely identify what the needs are and push for
proper funding.
Senator Tester. Can you tell me very briefly, if you could,
you are going to be pushing the budget out to probably
Secretary Salazar, or whatever the chain of command is. Can you
tell me what your priorities in that budget would be, just from
your inner soul, what they would be? From what you know, what
would they be?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Tester, I feel like I am just
beginning to learn about the important responsibilities that I
have to do, but I know what the key issues are within my heart
and soul. And education of American Indian and Alaska Native
youth are very, very important to me. Public safety in Indian
communities are very important to me. Creating jobs are very
important to me.
And so those will be some of the priorities that I push for
if I am confirmed as Assistant Secretary. There will, of
course, be other important things that affect the lives of and
the economies, particularly in the west, like water
settlements, but I just wanted to mention some of the things
that I know immediately will be very important.
Senator Tester. Okay. Well, just in closing real quick, I
think you are a quality individual. I hope you are confirmed. I
hope you are confirmed very, very soon, because I think this
department needs a leader, and I think you fit those
qualifications.
You told me when you were in my office that you weren't a
bureaucrat, and I think that fits this job's needs very, very
well. Thank you very much for being here.
The Chairman. Senator Tester, thank you very much.
Senator Crapo?
Senator Crapo. I pass.
The Chairman. Senator McCain, do you have questions?
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN McCAIN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA
Senator McCain. Welcome and thank you for all the hard work
you have done for many years on behalf of Native Americans. It
has been a great pleasure to have had the opportunity to work
with you on various issues.
One of the issues that you worked with us on is the issue
of Indian gaming. It is a tough issue. It is very controversial
throughout the Country. It is one that has plagued us ever
since we enacted the Indian Gaming Act a long time ago.
So I have several questions for you on this issue. Do you
believe that IGRA, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Commission, has
sufficient authority to do its job?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator McCain, in the process of teaching
Federal Indian law, one of the chapters that we cover is on
Indian gaming. I feel fairly comfortable that I know the very
basics of what that law, regulatory system is. When the United
States Supreme Court back in the mid-1980s decided the Cabazon
case that opened up this area to Indian tribes, and of course
to Congress very soon after, I believe it was in 1988, passed
the statutory law.
I welcomed that. I thought that the Congress got it about
right in a very difficult situation. That, of course, has
jumped forward far from that point. I do not feel like I know
presently all of the details about how Indian gaming operates.
I understand I will have some responsibilities in that area,
but I look forward to working with you and other concerned
Senators to get up to speed, to learn what I have to, and make
sure that it is properly regulated.
Senator McCain. I have to say with respect that is not a
very good answer, sir. You should know that this is a huge
issue. You have been involved in Native American issues for
many, many years. That is why you are being nominated for this
position.
Now, there was a decision concerning the Colorado River
Indian tribes which basically dramatically reduced the
authority of the Indian Regulatory Gaming Commission. That is
why I asked you this question. I will expect some answers
before I vote for your confirmation.
I have to deal with this issue regularly, regularly, as we
see for example Native American tribes going into an area that
is off-reservation and purchase that land in order to use it
for purposes of Indian gaming. This happens all the time. It
happens in Arizona. It happens all over the Country.
Now, I am sure you must be aware of that situation. Are
you?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator McCain, the particular situation
that you mention, I am not aware of.
Senator McCain. You are not familiar that this is going on
in America?
Mr. Echo Hawk. I am of course aware of Indian gaming laws,
as I said in my initial response. It is a part of what I teach,
but it is something that we cover in one day. I am not a gaming
attorney. I have not been able to penetrate all of the details
of Indian gaming law.
I have had some experience when I served as Attorney
General as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was just starting
to get going. And frankly, found myself in a very difficult
situation as a State Attorney General in representing the State
and being on the other side of the table from American Indian
tribes in my own State.
So I know the contentious nature of it, of the issue. And I
executed my duty as the State Attorney General. It was very
difficult for me personally, but I did my duty.
Senator McCain. Well, I say again with respect, sir,
teaching Indian law certainly makes one aware that the Cabazon
decision was one of the landmark decisions regarding Indian
Country in a long time. The repercussions of that was the
Indian Gaming Act, IGRA, the appointment of the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Commission. The Colorado River decision, all of
those are Indian law, which I take it that you taught. These
have had a huge impact on revenues to tribes, revenue-sharing
agreements between Governors.
So it is going to be a very important issue for you to
address. And frankly, your answer to me that you know about
these things is not sufficient and I hope that you will
certainly go back and look at the Indian law that has been
effected and its effect on Indian gaming, and come back and
give me some answers, because that issue will be before this
Committee. It will be before the Congress of the United States,
so it is very important to me. So I hope you will take that
seriously.
And along with that question that I have for you, do you
believe that Class III Indian gaming should be, that there is a
need to better regulate Class III Indian gaming?
I guess I would be very interested in your views about
Indian Health Service achieving much more ability to self-
govern. The Chairman and I and others have tried to get through
legislation to give the tribes much more authority over their
own health services. Do you have a view on that issue?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator McCain, of course, I feel like there
are great needs in the area of Indian health care. And I
certainly respect the sovereign authority of Indian tribes. I
do not consider myself to be an expert in the management and
delivery of health services.
I know that that primary responsibility is in the Indian
Health Service. We would be indirectly involved, both in the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education, but
the bottom line for me would be that the important thing is to
improve health care in Indian communities. And if there is a
better way of accomplishing that, I would be all for that.
I am not immersed in the issue well enough to be able to
say what that pathway is. I have an open mind. I don't think it
is going to be my decision about that, but perhaps I would be
involved in some discussions in that direction.
Senator McCain. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Senator Udall?
Senator Udall. Thank you, Chairman Dorgan.
General Echo Hawk, as you are no doubt aware, Secretary
Salazar has recently created a Youth Office in the Department
of Interior, and I applaud that effort. His goal is to have a
large number of youth serving on public lands. Representative
Grijalva of Arizona has introduced H.R. 1612 in the House to
help accomplish that goal by enrolling youth in service and
youth in service in conservation corps so that programs can
help young people benefit from that experience.
And I want to work with you to make sure that Native
American youth benefit from these initiatives. So what I
propose is that Native American young people work on native
lands on projects that their tribes and communities determine
to be important and set as their priorities. This is native
communities, native youth setting priorities on their land.
And we have put in a proposal. We are working with
Representative Grijalva on that, and I am wondering will you
and the Secretary work with me to ensure that Native Americans
have opportunities to work and serve in their own tribes and
communities on their prioritized projects, as well as to work
on public lands and the Federal agencies?
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Udall, I commend you for your
interest and efforts in that regard. I have just heard bits and
pieces about these plans. I would commit to you to work with
you and learn more about that and hopefully be as supportive as
I can for the efforts. But I am not familiar with the details
of those efforts at this time.
Senator Udall. Thank you, General Echo Hawk.
When Senator Tester asked you the question, what are the
priorities, one of those you mentioned was education. And the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, as you are no doubt aware, runs one
of the biggest school systems in the Country. I believe 50,000
students. So you have the opportunity in your position to
impact education in a dramatic way for native youngsters.
And I hope that one of your top priorities is focusing on
how that education is delivered in Indian Country because we
have 22 tribes in New Mexico. We have many of these BIA
schools. I frequently run into parents, to those that are
involved with the schools. And they say the reform we are
seeing across the education system needs to also happen at BIA.
And I think there is a real opportunity for you to
participate in that. And this 50,000-person school system is
there. It is operating. It has the ability to deliver quality
education for these young people and to do better and better
every day.
I think one of the things we are trying to now do with
education is build in the idea that we are going to improve
every day. That we are going to use a model that says that all
of the folks that are involved with education, be it a teacher
or a principal or an administrator, any type of school
employee, that we get up and we do a better job for our kids
every day.
So I am really not asking in a way for an answer here, but
I think that that is just so important and it could set an
example across Indian Country I think of where we need to go on
the education front.
One other question that I would like to throw at you is, as
you know, there is a huge backlog on construction throughout
the Department of Interior on tribal programs. Whether it is in
school construction or road construction or some of the other
areas, I think the backlogs are so big. We are talking billions
of dollars of backlog at the Department of Interior in these
areas.
One of the things that we could do that would really, I
think, make a difference is come up with a plan to wipe out
those backlogs. We are not going to be able to do it in a year
or two years. I am reminded of what Secretary Babbitt did when
he traveled across the Country and learned about the backlogs,
and I think he came up with a four-year plan. He laid it out in
that four-year plan. He said we are going to wipe out these
backlogs. We are going to get up to date, and we are going to
commit ourselves to that.
So I hope that one of the things you do when you get in
there is take stock of where you are, because I think you are
going to run into many folks coming to you and saying, we have
a problem here, a problem there. And you analyze all these and
realize that there are these big backlogs out there. And there
needs to be from your level and the Secretary's level and the
presidential level of saying, as we have heard before in this
Committee, and I think the Chairman has called several hearings
to highlight this, we almost need a Marshall Plan for dealing
with these issues in Indian Country.
So it is kind of a big amorphous question, but anyway go
ahead please.
Mr. Echo Hawk. Senator Udall, thank you for pointing this
out and I appreciate your concern. I have heard something about
this, but of course having not worked in the department
previously, I am not fully aware of this. But I would pledge to
you that I will find out and see what I can do to make sure
that we address any backlog problems.
Senator Udall. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Senator Udall, thank you very much.
Mr. Echo Hawk, let me make a couple of comments, and then
you may respond if you wish.
The priorities are quite clear. Law enforcement, we have
talked about that. I think you are going to bring a lot to this
job as we work to try to deal with law enforcement. Your
background brings an enormous amount, perhaps more than any we
have ever seen of someone who comes into this job on the law
enforcement side. So I appreciate that.
Health care, that is Indian Health Service, but you will
have some coordination there. Education, housing, all of those
are very important, and then the issue, as you described,
economic development, trying to find ways to provide jobs
because there is no social program as important as a good job
that pays well. That makes almost everything else possible in
terms of caring for your family and meeting the daily needs and
so on.
So I think that you will bring a lot to this. It is
understandable that when you show up at this table, not having
sat in the Interior Department as Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs, that you don't know all of the nuances of all
of the issues, but you will, and that will your responsibility.
I want to talk to you just for a moment about the issue of
gaming, because you can tell the former Chairman of this
Committee, Senator McCain, feels very strongly, as do others.
The Cabazon decision opened up opportunities for Indian gaming.
My guess is that most tribes, having the opportunity to provide
gaming and provide revenue for their tribal members from
gaming, would very much like to put a casino in downtown
Manhattan, somewhere near Times Square, right? If they had the
opportunity? You want to do gaming where there is a stream of
people with some income that is going to maximize the potential
of gaming.
But I don't look favorably on what is called off-
reservation gaming, where tribes generally shop for somewhere
closer to a metropolitan area to put a casino in. I personally
am not very accommodating to that. Off-reservation gaming, if
given a green light, every tribe in the Country would love to
do that, find a place near a big city and put the casino up.
So Senator McCain's concern about those things matches
concerns of others of us as well with respect to the issue of
land into trust for gaming purposes, et cetera. This is about a
$26 billion industry and growing, Indian gaming. It is very
important for the capability to continue that that there be
effective regulation.
We have a lot of history with respect to regulatory
difficulties with gaming. I am not talking about on Indian
reservations. I am just talking about the areas and spots in
this Country where for decades there have been gaming interests
that wish to find ways to engage themselves in gaming in a
rather untoward way.
So there are issues that relate to the National Indian
Gaming Commission. It relates to IGRA the underlying law. It
relates to the Colorado River decision in which they said the
National Indian Gaming Commission cannot take a look at and
regulate Class III gaming. And that being the case, there are
some circumstances in this Country where the only regulatory
authority that exists of any means is the tribal authority
itself because there are some States who, although they claim
because of their compact, have regulatory capability, probably
have a part-time person or one or one and a half part-time
people. That is not effective regulation.
So the National Indian Gaming Commission raises important
questions, and we have had many hearings on them when Senator
McCain was Chairman. And but for time issues, we would have had
hearings on them in the last Congress, but I decided to try to
use all of our resources to get an Indian Health Care
Improvement Act out of the United States Senate. We did for the
first time in 17 years in the United States Senate get a bill
out of here, and regrettably one of our colleagues stuck an
abortion amendment on it, which meant that it was killed in the
U.S. House.
But the only point of my saying this to you is the points
that Senator McCain raised are not irrelevant points at all,
and not just harbored by himself. I mean, there are issues here
with respect to Indian gaming that this Committee will explore
and we will need to explore it with your capability of studying
it, understanding it, and giving us some guidance, and working
with us and the National Indian Gaming Commission.
And so I just wanted to make that point because the former
Chairman I know feels strongly about it, but he is not alone.
There are many of us. We very much want Indian gaming to be
successful, and it certainly is. It has increased the revenue.
Increased opportunities for many Indian tribes to provide a
stream of income for their members, and that is important.
But like every other area of endeavor, there needs to be
effective regulatory capability. Some tribes have extraordinary
regulatory regimes, and I am enormously impressed. Some not
quite so impressive. And some States have really good
regulatory capabilities and hire a lot of people to do it. Some
States not so much. So this Committee will always continue to
be interested in that.
But having said that, you will likely get questions from
Senator McCain and I am going to send you some additional
questions as well. You will want to answer those questions as
quickly as you can. And we don't expect you to know all of the
nuances of all of these issues because they have been around
for a long time. But my hope is you will answer those questions
as completely as you can, get them back to us as quickly as you
can, and it is my intention to try very hard to move this
nomination with speed.
I would like very much for this Committee to approve your
nomination at our business meeting next Thursday. My hope would
be that very shortly thereafter, perhaps by the end of next
week following this Committee action, that we could get
unanimous consent for your nomination through the United States
Senate.
Again, with four of the last eight years having no one
running the BIA who has been appointed or nominated by a
president and confirmed by a Congress, I think it is
disgraceful, four of eight years. I mean, we have 500 Indian
tribes in this Country and we have made all kinds of
commitments and promises and agreements and have all these
trust responsibilities, and the fact is nobody seems to care
very much whether any of them are kept.
We need a BIA that works. We need someone that is there to
run it, that we can be proud of their work. And I think you are
the person, Mr. Echo Hawk. I have that kind of confidence. I
know my colleague from New Mexico and colleagues from Idaho and
Utah and Wyoming and others do as well.
So I look forward to working with you, and I believe that
you will be confirmed and I intend to work with all of my
colleagues to try to make that happen as soon as possible.
Let me ask if you have any concluding statements.
Mr. Echo Hawk. Mr. Chairman, I just appreciate the
opportunity to appear before this Committee, and would hope
that I would be confirmed soon to take on these important
responsibilities. Thank you.
The Chairman. And finally, let me say thanks for bringing
your family. I suspect they are justifiably proud of their
husband and father and sibling, and all of us wish you well.
This hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:20 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Byron L. Dorgan to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. John Barrasso to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Daniel K. Akaka to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Maria Cantwell to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Tom Coburn, M.D. to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. John McCain to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Jon Tester to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Tom Udall to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Dianne Feinstein to
Larry J. Echo Hawk
______