CAMPBELL INTRODUCES BILLS TO ENCOURAGE INDIAN EMPLOYMENT HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND INDIAN TRUST REFORMS
Washington D.C. — Today Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Indian Affairs
Committee Vice Chairman, introduced three bills realted to Indian affairs. The
"Native American Commercial Driving Training and Technical Assistance Act"
will encourage and assist Tribally-controlled colleges and universities in
offering training programs leading to commercial driving licenses for American
Indians. "The national Indian unemployment rate is almost 50% and at the same
time there is an estimated demand for some 200,000 certified and trained
truckers. This bill represents a 'Win-win' situation which will provide more
qualified drivers to the trucking industry and encourage more Native Americans
to join a rewarding and well-paying profession" said Campbell, the lone Indian
in the Senate and a commercial driver's licenses holder himself.
The second bill would amend the "National Little Bighorn Battlefield
National Monument Act" and seek to expand the lands in the Monument by
facilitating the donation of lands by willing private landowners in the area.
The bill will establish a multi-party commission to maintain a registry of
lands that could be added and would make recommendations to the Secretary of
the Interior on lands to be added.
"When Congress enacted the first Little Bighorn Act, it set a limit on the
acreage that could be added to the Monument. Anyone who visits this hallowed
spot today knows that commercial development threatens Monument lands. This
bill will help create a buffer without requiring federal mandates or the taking
of additional lands," remarked Campebll who introduced the original legislation
in 1991 that changed the name of the Monument from the Custer Battlefield to
the Little Bighorn National Monument.
Campbell also introduced the "Indian Probate Reform Act of 2001" to
continue the progress made over the last several years in bringing real reforms
to the Indian trust management. "In 200 we passed legislation to help tribes
re-consolidate their fractioned lands. This bill takes the next step by setting
out uniform probate rules for Indian people," said Campbell. The Legislation
would also assist in facilitating federal technocal assistance to Indian
testators and their heirs.
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CONTACT: Paul Moorehead 202-224-2251
August 8, 2001