National American Indian And Alaska Native Heritage Month

Floor Speech

National American Indian And Alaska Native Heritage Month

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, on October 30, 2009, President Obama issued a proclamation designating November 2009 as National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. This President follows a tradition of Presidents since 1990 of issuing proclamations honoring the significant contributions of tribal governments and individual Native Americans to our Nation's history and development.

Congress also has traditionally recognized the contributions of Native Americans to the United States in the form of resolutions, findings, coins and medals. The resolution introduced here today continues in that tradition.

This resolution recognizes some of the many contributions that Native Americans have made to help build our great Nation as well as the continued contributions of Native Americans to the growth of the United States. Native Americans have made significant contributions in the fields of agriculture, medicine, music, language, and art. They were an influencing force in the founding documents of our Federal Government. Indian tribes have even made use of Native languages to develop an unbreakable military code that helped defeat the Axis powers in World War II. These remarkable tribes and individual Native Americans have shaped our Nation's history in so many very meaningful ways.

Through this resolution, we recognize and celebrate these and many other contributions of tribal governments and Native Americans during the month of November. It is particularly important that President Obama has decided to host a Tribal Leaders Summit at the White House. The President will meet with tribal leaders in Washington, DC, November 5, 2009, to discuss the many issues facing tribal communities throughout the Nation.

We have several very important pieces of legislation before this body that I hope to move in the interest of the First Americans. S. 1790, the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and Extension Act of 2009, was introduced on October 15, 2009, after much consultation and discussion among tribal leaders and Indian health experts. I will work very hard this Congress to get this important piece of legislation to the President's desk. In addition, after many, many hearings and numerous listening sessions, I introduced S. 797, the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009, earlier this year. This important piece of legislation has strong bipartisan support and will help to improve the status of law and order on tribal lands. The bill has been approved by the Indian Affairs Committee and is waiting for approval by the full Senate.

I urge all citizens, and local, State, and Federal governments and agencies to take time this month to learn more about the many facets of Native American history, traditions, and their important contributions to the formation of the United States. Mr. President, I ask that this resolution be adopted quickly and that it act as encouragement to all people of the United States to observe the month of November as National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.

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