WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.
Senate Committee Advances Pit River Land Transfer Act
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has advanced bipartisan legislation to transfer 557 acres of federal land in California to the Pit River Tribe, marking a step forward in the Tribe’s more than decade-long effort to regain management of its ancestral lands.
The Pit River Land Transfer Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, both California Democrats, would transfer federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service to the Secretary of the Interior to be held in trust for the Pit River Tribe.
The land includes the Four Corners site, which holds cultural and ancestral significance for the Tribe.
If enacted, the bill would place the 557 acres in federal trust status for the Pit River Tribe, strengthening Tribal management and sovereignty over the culturally significant lands.
FCC Tribal Workshop August 20-21, in Albuquerque
The Federal Communications Commission will host its next Tribal Workshop August 20-21 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, bringing together federal and state broadband officials to discuss Tribal connectivity and telecommunications issues.
The workshop will include representatives from the FCC, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service, and the New Mexico and Arizona state broadband offices. The FCC also plans to highlight its data and mapping initiatives.
The workshop will be held at the National Indian Programs Training Center, 1011 Indian School Road NW, Suite 254, in Albuquerque.
The workshop is free, but registration is required. Tribal leaders, telecommunications and IT managers, planners, enterprise specialists, Tribal broadband providers and GIS staff are encouraged to attend.
The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. MDT Thursday, August 20, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. MDT Friday, August 21.
To register, email your name, title, Tribal affiliation and contact information to Native@fcc.gov with the subject line “August Workshop.”
Legislation Introduced to Expand Tribal Access to Military Infrastructure Grants
U.S. Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and James Lankford, R-Okla., have introduced bipartisan legislation that would make Tribal governments eligible to apply for grants under the Defense Community Infrastructure Program.
Tribal Nations are currently excluded from applying directly for DCIP grants, despite many Tribes neighboring and supporting military installations across the country.
The program provides grants to state and local governments for infrastructure projects outside military installations that support military readiness and benefit service members and their families. Eligible projects can include roads, utilities, schools, hospitals and emergency response infrastructure.
The legislation would amend existing law to explicitly include Tribal governments among the state and local entities eligible to apply for DCIP funding.
“Tribes play a key role in our military readiness—they should be eligible for these funds just like any other community would be,” Murray said.
Lankford, noting that Oklahoma is home to 39 Tribal Nations, said Tribes that provide infrastructure and other services benefiting military installations should have the same opportunity to seek federal infrastructure grants as other local governments.
Reps. Emily Randall, D-Wash., and Rob Wittman, R-Va., are leading companion legislation in the House.
The bill is intended to expand federal infrastructure funding opportunities for Tribal Nations that support military installations and surrounding defense communities.
The full bill text is available HERE.
The post Native News Weekly (August 2, 2026): D.C. Briefs appeared first on Native News Online.
