WASHINGTON – A Senate committee approved legislation Wednesday that aims to improve education and strengthen culture within the Native American community.
The Indian Affairs Committee on Wednesday reported out three bills: a law supporting native language programs would be reauthorized through 2020; an Indian education agency would gain more independence, and a tribe in Spokane, Washington would get compensation for use of its land for hydropower.
The languages act will implement Native American language programs for the next four years, and reduce the minimum number of students required in these programs for them to receive government funding.
“Revitalization of native language goes hand in hand with revitalizing native communities,” said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., a co-sponsor of the bill.
The education bill, introduced by committee chairman, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., will “cut through the bureaucratic red tape of the Bureau of Indian Education” by creating an independent Indian Education Agency within the Interior Department, according to Barrasso.
The compensation measure would compensate the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation for past and present use of their land for hydropower electricity.
A hearing for the Native American Language legislation was held last November, coinciding with Native American Heritage Month.
During that hearing, Barrasso said it was fitting that his committee focus on “legislation that would help educate the next generation of Native Americans.”
Lillian Robinson, commissioner of the Administration of Native Americans, said at the November meeting that language revitalization is an essential component of maintaining Native American culture.
“Research tells us that use of Native American languages builds identity and assists communities into moving towards social-cohesion and self-sufficiency,” she said.
“There is growing evidence that native language and culture act as protective factors against suicide and suicidal ideation, substance abuse disorder and other risky disorders.”
There has been a historical decline in the use of Native American languages, due in part to the boarding schools of the late nineteenth century designed to assimilate Indian people into American life.
“We must do all we can to reverse the impacts of bad policies,” said Sen. Tester on Wednesday.