[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 191 (Thursday, December 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S7074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 867--RELATING TO THE DEATH OF THE ALAN R. PARKER, 
  FORMER STAFF DIRECTOR AND CHIEF COUNSEL OF THE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN 
                         AFFAIRS OF THE SENATE

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

                              S. Res. 867

       Whereas Alan R. Parker was born on the Standing Rock Sioux 
     Reservation in Fort Yates, North Dakota;
       Whereas Alan R. Parker was a proud citizen of the Chippewa 
     Cree Nation;
       Whereas Alan R. Parker grew up on the Rocky Boy Indian 
     Reservation in Montana, and considered the Rocky Boy Indian 
     Reservation as his home;
       Whereas Alan R. Parker was drafted into the United States 
     Army in 1965, achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the 
     United States Army Signal Corps, deployed to Vietnam in 1967, 
     and was awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious service under 
     combat conditions;
       Whereas, in 1972, Alan R. Parker graduated from the 
     University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and 
     worked for the Office of the Solicitor of the Department of 
     the Interior in Washington, D.C.;
       Whereas, in 1974, Alan R. Parker joined the Indian Law 
     Center at the University of New Mexico as a staff attorney;
       Whereas, in 1975, Alan R. Parker was appointed to the 
     Tribal Government Task Force of the American Indian Policy 
     Review Commission;
       Whereas, in 1977, Alan R. Parker was appointed by Senator 
     James Abourezk as the first Native American Chief Counsel of 
     the newly established Temporary Select Committee on Indian 
     Affairs of the Senate;
       Whereas Alan R. Parker served as the President of the 
     American Indian National Bank during the period of 1982 to 
     1987;
       Whereas, in 1987, Alan R. Parker was appointed by Senator 
     Daniel K. Inouye to serve as Staff Director of the permanent 
     Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
       Whereas Alan R. Parker worked to secure passage of the--
       (1) Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et 
     seq.);
       (2) Public Law 95-341 (commonly known as the ``American 
     Indian Religious Freedom Act'') (42 U.S.C. 1996);
       (3) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.);
       (4) Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 
     (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.);
       (5) Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5361 et 
     seq.); and
       (6) numerous Tribal land and water claims settlement Acts;
       Whereas, in 1991, Alan R. Parker established the National 
     Indian Policy Center at George Washington University;
       Whereas, in 1997, Alan R. Parker joined the faculty of the 
     Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and 
     established the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute, 
     the first graduate program in Tribal governance;
       Whereas, in 2007, Alan R. Parker was appointed as the co-
     chair of the National Congress of American Indians' Special 
     Committee on Indigenous Nation Relations and coordinated 
     treaty negotiations to establish the United League of 
     Indigenous Nations;
       Whereas, in 2014, Alan R. Parker served as an adjunct 
     faculty member at the Maori Indigenous University, Te Whare 
     Wananga o Awanuiarangi in New Zealand and focused on the 
     advancement of Indigenous Nations across the Western World;
       Whereas Alan R. Parker authored ``Pathways to Indigenous 
     Nation Sovereignty in the 21st Century'' and ``American 
     Indian Identity: Citizenship, Membership and Blood'' with 
     Jessie Young and Se-ah-dom Edmo;
       Whereas Alan R. Parker was--
       (1) a loving husband to his wife of 53 years, Sharon 
     Parker;
       (2) a loving father to his children Christina Parker and 
     James Alan Parker; and
       (3) a loving grandfather to his grandchildren, Shahndiin 
     Parker, Siale Edmo Parker, Imasees Alan ``Little Bear'' 
     Parker, and Miyosiwin Elizabeth Parker;
       Whereas Alan R. Parker is survived by 4 sisters, 1 brother, 
     and many beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews; and
       Whereas Alan R. Parker was a life-long advocate for Native 
     communities and contributed to the design and development of 
     some of the most important laws affirming Tribal sovereignty 
     and the Federal trust responsibility of the United States: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep 
     regret the announcement of the death of Alan R. Parker, 
     former Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Committee on 
     Indian Affairs of the Senate; and
       (2) the Senate respectfully requests that the Secretary of 
     the Senate--
       (A) communicate this resolution to the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (B) transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the 
     family of Alan R. Parker.

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