OHA Board Chair, Lindsey of Maui Testifies Before US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey of Maui testified this morning at the first hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs chaired by US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaiʻi), urging senators to help address the needs of Native Hawaiians. 

“This committee has a long history of bipartisanship and collegiality among its members,” Chair Lindsey said in her testimony today. “That spirit is critical to elevating the voices of Native leaders and fulfilling the federal government’s trust responsibility owed to all Native people of the United States. Your work here empowers the Native community to continue exercising true self-determination – our right to chart our own course and maintain our distinct traditions, cultures, and Native ways.” 

Chair Lindsey further testified that the federal government must honor its trust responsibility to the Native Hawaiian people; support federal programs for Native Hawaiians in the areas of health care, housing, economic development and education; and ensure parity in the treatment of all Native Americans, including American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. 

Entitled “A call to action: Native communities’ priorities in focus for the 117th Congress,” OHA administrators called today’s oversight hearing “the start of a new era for the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.” Sen. Schatz was named chair of the committee earlier this month, becoming the third Hawaiʻi senator to chair the committee, and the first to do so in nearly a decade. 

Sen. Schatz opened today’s hearing by stating that one of his goals as chairman is to bring Native Hawaiian issues and priorities to the forefront. 

“I want to be clear that today’s hearing isn’t a check the box exercise,” he said “It’s a real opportunity for members of the Committee to chart a path forward by listening to and learning from Native leaders for the next two years and beyond.” 

He continued saying, “Now more than ever, Congress must be tuned in and listening. Native communities are experiencing disproportionate impacts from multiple crises—COVID-19, economic insecurity, racial injustice, and climate change. So as the strongest voice for Native priorities in the Congress, this Committee will act to address these challenges by working together in its bipartisan tradition and to uphold the federal treaty and trust responsibilities to tribes and Native communities across the country—from Hawai‘i to Alaska and to the continental United States.”

Chair Lindsey was one of four witnesses invited to testify before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on the priorities facing their respective Native communities. The other witnesses at today’s hearing were: 

• Honorable Fawn Sharp, President, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, DC 
• Honorable Leonard Forsman, President, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, Portland, OR 
• Julie Kitka, President, Alaska Federation of Natives, Anchorage, AK 

After the hearing, Chair Lindsey said she was honored for opportunity to testify. 

“I extend my aloha and congratulations to Chairman Brian Schatz and Vice Chairman Lisa Murkowski on their new leadership positions on the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs,” said Lindsey. “Mahalo for today’s opportunity to elevate the issues of our Native communities, and we look forward to continuing this dialogue with your committee on how Congress can continue to support the needs of Hawaiʻi’s Indigenous people.” 

Chair Lindsey’s written testimony is available for viewing here.