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.
Senator Schatz Renews Call for NAGPRA Compliance at 15 Institutions
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, is renewing calls for 15 museums and universities to accelerate the return of Native American ancestral remains and cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
The renewed effort follows years of advocacy by Schatz to address slow compliance among institutions that continue to hold tens of thousands of Native ancestral remains and cultural objects.
“It shouldn’t take this long to return Native remains to their communities. Indigenous people have waited long enough. It’s time for these museums and universities to stop the delays and finally do the right thing,” Schatz said.
In letters sent to the institutions, Schatz requested updates on their compliance with NAGPRA, explanations for why Native remains and cultural items remain in their possession, and details about any barriers preventing full compliance.
The institutions contacted include Ohio History Connection, Illinois State Museum, Harvard University, the University of California Berkeley, Indiana University, the University of Tennessee Knoxville, the University of Kentucky, the University of Alabama, the University of Arizona, the University of Florida, the University of Missouri, the University of Oklahoma, the Center for American Archeology, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Milwaukee Public Museum.
Schatz’s inquiry is part of ongoing congressional efforts to ensure institutions meet their legal obligations to return Native ancestors and cultural heritage items to Tribal Nations and descendant communities.
House Panel Reviews Bill to Revive Tribal Regulatory Reform Authority
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held a legislative hearing Wednesday on three bills affecting Indian Country, including H.R. 8954, the Tribal Regulatory Reform Implementation Act of 2026.
Introduced by Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), the bill would transfer administrative responsibility for the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of 2000 from the Department of Commerce to the Department of the Interior. Supporters say the move could finally activate a regulatory reform framework that has remained dormant for 25 years.
The original law established a 21-member Authority charged with identifying and recommending the removal of federal regulatory barriers to investment and business development in Indian Country. However, the Authority was never convened.
Testifying on behalf of NAFOA and its more than 190 member Tribes, Chairman Rodney Butler of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and president of NAFOA’s Board of Directors characterized the legislation as a matter of fulfilling an existing commitment.
“H.R. 8954 does not ask Congress to make a new promise. It asks Congress to keep an old one.”
Butler noted that the original legislation was championed by the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and former Olympian, who argued that excessive federal regulation hindered Tribal entrepreneurship.
According to Butler, many of the challenges identified when the law was enacted remain today, including persistent poverty in Tribal communities and limited access to capital markets compared to state and local governments.
NAFOA supports H.R. 8954 as part of a broader effort to strengthen Tribal economies. Butler said the measure complements the Tribal Tax and Investment Reform Act of 2026 (TTIRA), describing the two bills as “complementary pillars of the same long-overdue commitment to building stronger Tribal economies.”
While TTIRA focuses on tax and financing inequities, Butler said H.R. 8954 would establish a mechanism to identify and address broader federal regulatory barriers affecting Tribal economic development.
READ Chairman Rodney Butler’s written testimony.
