[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 19, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2445-S2446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 597--RECOGNIZING THE HERITAGE, CULTURE, AND 
 CONTRIBUTIONS OF AMERICAN INDIAN, ALASKA NATIVE, AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN 
                       WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES

  Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Bennet, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Ms. Butler, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Collins, Ms. 
Cortez Masto, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Daines, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. 
Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Lujan, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Risch, Ms. Rosen, Mr. 
Rounds, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Smith, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Tester, 
Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 597

       Whereas the United States celebrates National Women's 
     History Month every March to recognize and honor the 
     achievements of women throughout the history of the United 
     States;
       Whereas an estimated 4,718,255 American Indian, Alaska 
     Native, and Native Hawaiian women live in the United States;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women--
       (1) have helped shape the history of their communities, 
     Tribes, and the United States;
       (2) have fought to defend and protect the sovereign rights 
     of Native Nations; and
       (3) have demonstrated resilience and courage in the face of 
     a history of threatened existence, constant removals, and 
     relocations;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women contribute to their communities, Tribes, and the United 
     States through military service, public service, and work in 
     many industries, including business, education, science, 
     medicine, literature, and fine arts, including Pablita ``Tse 
     Tsan'' Velarde, a Santa Clara Pueblo artist and painter whose 
     art work depicted traditional Pueblo life and preserved 
     Pueblo stories and knowledge, and whose paintings were 
     commissioned for display at Bandelier National Monument;
       Whereas, as of 2023, more than 4,400 American Indian, 
     Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women were bravely serving 
     as members of the Armed Forces of the United States;
       Whereas, as of 2023, more than 20,800 American Indian, 
     Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women were veterans who 
     made lasting contributions to the Armed Forces of the United 
     States;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women broke down historical gender barriers to enlistment in 
     the military, including--
       (1) Laura Beltz Wright, an Inupiat Eskimo sharpshooter of 
     the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II;
       (2) Minnie Spotted Wolf of the Blackfeet Tribe, the first 
     Native American woman to enlist in the United States Marine 
     Corps in 1943; and
       (3) Marcella LeBeau of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, a 
     decorated veteran who served as an Army combat nurse during 
     World War II and received the French Legion of Honour for her 
     bravery and service;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States, 
     including Lori Ann Piestewa, a member of the Hopi Tribe who 
     was the first Native American woman to be killed in action 
     while serving on foreign soil and the first woman serving in 
     the Armed Forces of the United States to be killed in the 
     Iraq War in 2003;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have contributed to the economic development of Native 
     Nations and the United States as a whole, including Elouise 
     Cobell of the Blackfeet Tribe, a recipient of the 
     Presidential Medal of Freedom, who--
       (1) served as the treasurer of the Blackfeet Tribe;
       (2) founded the first Tribal-owned national bank; and
       (3) led the fight against Federal mismanagement of funds 
     held in trust for more than 500,000 Native Americans;
       Whereas, as of 2020, American Indian, Alaska Native, and 
     Native Hawaiian women owned an estimated 161,500 businesses;
       Whereas, as of 2020, Native women-owned businesses employed 
     more than 61,000 workers and generated more than 
     $11,000,000,000 in revenue;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native women have opened 
     an average of more than 17 new businesses each day since 
     2007;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have made significant contributions to the fields of 
     medicine and health, including--
       (1) Susan La Flesche Picotte of the Omaha Tribe, who is 
     widely acknowledged as the first Native American to earn a 
     medical degree; and
       (2) Annie Dodge Wauneka of the Navajo Nation, who--
          (A) advocated for better public health, education, and 
     living conditions on the Navajo Nation leading to her 
     becoming 1 of

[[Page S2446]]

     the first female council members for the Navajo Nation in 
     1951; and
          (B) was the first Native American to receive a 
     Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have contributed to important scientific advancements, 
     including--
       (1) Floy Agnes Lee of the Santa Clara Pueblo, who--
          (A) worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II; 
     and
          (B) pioneered research on radiation biology and cancer;
       (2) Native Hawaiian Isabella Kauakea Yau Yung Aiona Abbott, 
     who--
          (A) was the first woman on the biological sciences 
     faculty at Stanford University; and
          (B) in 1997, was awarded the Gilbert Morgan Smith medal, 
     the highest award in marine botany from the National Academy 
     of Sciences; and
       (3) Mary Golda Ross of the Cherokee Nation, who--
          (A) is considered the first Native American engineer of 
     the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
          (B) helped develop spacecrafts for the Gemini and Apollo 
     space programs; and
          (C) was recognized by the Federal Government on the 2019 
     1 dollar coin honoring Native Americans and their 
     contributions;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have achieved distinctive honors in the art of dance, 
     including Maria Tallchief or Wa-Xthe-Thon-ba of the Osage 
     Nation, who--
       (1) was the first major prima ballerina of the United 
     States and was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award 
     from the Kennedy Center; and
       (2) was recognized by the Federal Government on the 2023 1 
     dollar coin with her sister Marjorie Tallchief of the Osage 
     Nation, Yvonne Chouteau of the Shawnee Tribe, Rosella 
     Hightower of the Choctaw Nation, and Moscelyne Larkin of the 
     Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Peoria Tribe of 
     Indians of Oklahoma, collectively known as the ``Five 
     Moons'', for the legacy they left on ballet;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have accomplished notable literary achievements, 
     including Northern Paiute author Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, 
     who wrote and published 1 of the first Native American 
     autobiographies in United States history in 1883;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have regularly led efforts to protect their traditional 
     ways of life and to revitalize and maintain Native cultures 
     and languages, including--
       (1) Esther Martinez, a Tewa linguist and teacher who 
     developed a Tewa dictionary and was credited with 
     revitalizing the Tewa language;
       (2) Mary Kawena Pukui, a Native Hawaiian scholar who 
     published more than 50 academic works and was considered the 
     most noted Hawaiian translator of the 20th century;
       (3) Katie John, an Ahtna Athabascan of Mentasta Lake, who 
     was the lead plaintiff in lawsuits that strengthened Native 
     subsistence fishing rights in Alaska and who helped create 
     the alphabet for the Ahtna language;
       (4) Edith Kenao Kanaka`ole, a Native Hawaiian language and 
     cultural practitioner who--
          (A) founded her own hula school, Halau o Kekuhi;
          (B) helped develop some of the first courses in Hawaiian 
     language and culture for public schools and colleges; and
          (C) was recognized by the Federal Government on the 2023 
     quarter honoring her significant contributions and 
     accomplishments perpetuating Native Hawaiian culture and 
     arts; and
       (5) Dr. Gladys Iola Tantaquidgeon, a Mohegan medicine woman 
     and anthropologist, who worked for 50 years at the 
     Tantaquidgeon Indian Museum in Connecticut, the oldest Native 
     American owned and operated museum in the United States, 
     which she founded with her father and brother to preserve the 
     culture and history of their Tribe, and which contributed to 
     the Tribe's Federal recognition in 1994;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have excelled in athletic competition and created 
     opportunities for other female athletes within their sport, 
     including Rell Kapoliokaehukai Sunn, who--
       (1) was ranked as longboard surfing champion of the world; 
     and
       (2) co-founded the Women's Professional Surfing Association 
     in 1975, the first professional surfing tour for women;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have played a vital role in advancing civil rights, 
     protecting human rights, advocating for land rights, and 
     safeguarding the environment, including--
       (1) Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich, Tlingit, a member of 
     the Lukaax.adi clan in the Raven moiety with the Tlingit name 
     of Kaaxgal.aat, who--
          (A) helped secure the passage of House Bill 14, commonly 
     known as the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945 (H.B. 14, Laws 
     of Alaska. 17th Regular Session, Territorial Legislature. 
     Feb. 16, 1945), in the Alaska Territorial Legislature, the 
     first anti-discrimination law in the United States; and
          (B) was recognized by the Federal Government on the 2020 
     1 dollar coin honoring Native Americans and their 
     contributions;
       (2) Zitkala-Sa, a Yankton Dakota writer and advocate, whose 
     work during the early 20th century helped advance the 
     citizenship, voting, and land rights of Native Americans; and
       (3) Mary Jane Fate, of the Koyukon Athabascan village of 
     Rampart, who--
          (A) was the first woman to chair the Alaska Federation 
     of Natives;
          (B) was a founding member of the North American Indian 
     Women's Association; and
          (C) was an advocate for settlement of Indigenous land 
     claims in Alaska;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have succeeded as judges, attorneys, and legal 
     advocates, including--
       (1) Eliza ``Lyda'' Conley, a Wyandot-American lawyer and 
     the first Native woman admitted to argue a case before the 
     Supreme Court of the United States in 1909; and
       (2) Emma Kailikapiolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina, a Native 
     Hawaiian who served as the first female judge in Hawaii;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women are dedicated public servants, holding important 
     positions in the Federal judicial branch, the Federal 
     executive branch, State governments, and local governments;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native women have served 
     as remarkable Tribal councilwomen, Tribal court judges, and 
     Tribal leaders, including Wilma Mankiller, who--
       (1) was the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief 
     of the Cherokee Nation;
       (2) fought for Tribal self-determination and the 
     improvement of the community infrastructure of her Tribe; and
       (3) was recognized by the Federal Government on the 2022 
     quarter honoring her legacy of leadership for Native people 
     and women;
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women have also led Native peoples through notable acts of 
     public service, including--
       (1) Kaahumanu, who was the first Native Hawaiian woman to 
     serve as regent of the Kingdom of Hawaii; and
       (2) Polly Cooper, of the Oneida Indian Nation, who--
          (A) walked from central New York to Valley Forge as part 
     of a relief mission to provide food for the Army led by 
     General George Washington during the American Revolutionary 
     War; and
          (B) was recognized for her courage and generosity by 
     Martha Washington;
       Whereas the United States should continue to invest in the 
     future of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women to address the barriers those women face, including--
       (1) access to justice;
       (2) access to health care; and
       (3) opportunities for educational and economic advancement; 
     and
       Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
     women are the life givers, the culture bearers, and the 
     caretakers of Native peoples who have made precious 
     contributions, enriching the lives of all people of the 
     United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) celebrates and honors the successes of American Indian, 
     Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women and the 
     contributions those women have made and continue to make to 
     the United States; and
       (2) recognizes the importance of providing for the safety 
     and upholding the interests of American Indian, Alaska 
     Native, and Native Hawaiian women.

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