[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 156 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 156
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 5 (legislative day, April 4), 2025
Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Lujan, Mr.
Rounds, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Curtis, Ms. Smith, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Heinrich,
Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Padilla, and Ms. Klobuchar)
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act.
Whereas the 1970s ushered in a new era of Federal Indian policy, one of Tribal
sovereignty and self-determination that enhanced government-to-
government relations between the United States and Indian Tribes through
administering Federal programs, services, and functions to Tribal
citizens;
Whereas, on July 8, 1970, in his ``Special Message to Congress on Indian
Affairs'', President Richard M. Nixon--
(1) recognized that Indian Tribes constitute a distinct and valuable
segment of the Federalist system in the United States and acknowledged that
Tribal governments are--
G (A) best able to meet the needs of their citizens; and
G (B) best situated to determine their political and economic
futures;
(2) recognized that past Federal policies of legal and political
termination of the government-to-government relationship between the United
States and Indian Tribes, along with paternalistic and oppressive oversight
and control of Tribal affairs, devastated the political, economic, and
social aspects of life in Tribal communities;
(3) rejected the misguided policies of termination and paternalism as
``morally and legally unacceptable''; and
(4) endorsed ``the integrity and right to continued existence of all
Tribal governments'', laying the foundation for new, enlightened Federal
Indian policy grounded in economic self-reliance and political self-
determination;
Whereas, 5 years after President Nixon's ``Special Message to Congress on Indian
Affairs'', Congress unanimously passed the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) (referred to in this
preamble as ``ISDEAA'' or the ``Act'') on December 19, 1974, and
President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., signed the Act into law on January 4,
1975;
Whereas the Act --
(1) recognizes the inherent authority of Indian Tribes to exercise
their sovereignty and right to self-determination; and
(2) promotes Tribal sovereignty by authorizing Indian Tribes to
administer Federal programs, functions, and services for their benefit,
such as health care, education, public safety, and natural resources
development, which promotes local decision making, improves service
delivery, and fosters innovative solutions for community development;
Whereas the Act is one of the most successful Federal Indian policies in the
history of the United States, having--
(1) profoundly reshaped the relationship between the Federal Government
and Indian Tribes;
(2) grounded the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to fulfill
its trust and treaty obligations to Indian Tribes by authorizing Indian
Tribes to enter into contracts and compacts with the United States to
administer Federal programs, functions, and services for their own
communities;
(3) empowered Indian Tribes to achieve remarkable progress in self-
determination, self-governance, and community development through the
authorities described in paragraph (2);
(4) enabled Indian Tribes--
G (A) to reclaim their role as decision makers for their own people;
G (B) to improve the quality of life for their communities; and
G (C) to improve service delivery through culturally-appropriate
solutions tailored to local needs;
(5) helped Indian Tribes build capacity to manage complex Federal
programs, strengthen internal governance and administrative structures, and
advocate for policy changes to improve allocation of resources and
services;
(6) improved the efficiency, effectiveness, and reach of essential
government and community services, including health care, public safety,
education, elder and child care, and natural resource management, which
consistently outperform programs directly managed by the Federal
Government; and
(7) increased innovation, job creation, and long-term planning in
Tribal communities, resulting in improved community welfare;
Whereas, since the 1975 enactment of ISDEAA, Congress has authorized the
expansion of Tribal self-determination and self-governance authorities
across the Federal Government, including by amending the Act in multiple
Congresses, including in--
(1) the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
Amendments of 1988 (Public Law 100-472; 102 Stat. 2285) to increase Tribal
participation in the management of Federal Indian programs and ensure long-
term financial stability for Tribally-managed programs;
(2) the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-644; 104 Stat. 4665) to support Tribal
self-determination efforts;
(3) the Indian Health Amendments of 1992 (Public Law 102-573; 106 Stat.
4526) to authorize a Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Project within
the Indian Health Service for Indian Tribes to enter into self-governance
compacts to administer their own health care programs;
(4) the Indian Self-Determination Act Amendments of 1994 (Public Law
103-413; 108 Stat. 4250) to establish a permanent Tribal self-governance
program within the Department of the Interior, allowing Indian Tribes
greater autonomy in managing and administering Federal programs at the
Department of the Interior;
(5) the Tribal Self-Governance Amendments of 2000 (Public Law 106-260;
114 Stat. 711) to authorize title V of ISDEAA and the Tribal Self-
Governance Program within the Indian Health Service, including for health
care facility construction activities; and
(6) the PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act (Public Law 116-180; 134 Stat.
857) to streamline and strengthen Tribal self-governance by reforming the
approval process of the Department of the Interior, creating consistent
interagency statutory frameworks for ISDEAA agreements and clarifying
Federal and Tribal roles in certain self-governance compacts;
Whereas multiple laws have expanded self-determination and self-governance by
authorizing ISDEAA provisions and parallel authorities in other Federal
agencies and programs, including--
(1) part B of title XI of the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C.
2000 et seq.) to authorize Indian Tribes to contract with the Bureau of
Indian Affairs to provide educational services for preschool through grade
12;
(2) the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et
seq.) to provide Indian Tribes additional flexibility in managing and
leading educational programs for their children, including educational
facilities improvement and construction projects;
(3) the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992
(25 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.) to authorize Indian Tribes to consolidate
federally-funded employment, training, and related service programs;
(4) the Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Demonstration
Act Amendments of 2000 (Public Law 106-568; 114 Stat. 2930) to expand
eligible uses of consolidated Federal funding for employment-related
services provided by Indian Tribes;
(5) the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110; 115 Stat.
1425) to clarify inherent Federal functions and eligible costs relating to
Indian education that are eligible for contracts under part B of title XI
of the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2000 et seq.) and to clarify
applicable ISDEAA provisions to certain Indian education lease payments;
(6) the FAST Act (Public Law 114-94; 129 Stat. 1312) to authorize
contracting and compacting funding agreements with Indian Tribes to
administer Department of Transportation funding for Tribal transportation
programs and other Federal transportation services that are otherwise
available to Indian Tribes;
(7) the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation
Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-93; 131 Stat. 2026) to revise the approval
processes for, and types of programs that may be integrated into,
federally-funded employment, training, and related service programs for
Indian Tribes; and
(8) the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-334; 1323
Stat. 4490) to authorize demonstration projects at the Food and Nutrition
Service and Forest Service for Tribal self-determination contracts for--
G (A) the food distribution program on Indian reservations carried
out under section 4(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2013(b)); and
G (B) forestry management activities under the Tribal Forest
Protection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a et seq.);
Whereas the laws described in the 2 preceding whereas clauses reflect the
ongoing commitment of Congress to enhance Tribal sovereignty and
continually perfect self-determination and self-governance through
amendments to ISDEAA and related statutes;
Whereas the majority of federally recognized Indian Tribes use ISDEAA self-
determination and self-governance authorities to deliver essential
government and community services;
Whereas, as of March 2024, the Department of the Interior reported that 526 of
the 574 federally recognized Indian Tribes, or 92 percent, have entered
into self-determination contracts and 295 federally recognized Indian
Tribes have entered into self-governance compacts under ISDEAA;
Whereas, as of March 2025, the Bureau of Indian Education reported that 129 of
the 187 Bureau of Indian Education-funded elementary and secondary
schools, or 69 percent, are Tribally controlled schools under the
Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.);
Whereas, as of July 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services reported
that the Indian Health Service has entered into 121 self-governance
compacts and 141 funding agreements under ISDEAA across all 12 Indian
Health Service Areas;
Whereas other Federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of Transportation, have reported successful implementation of
parallel authorities to advance Tribal self-determination and self-
governance in managing Federal programs;
Whereas Indian Tribes use the authorities under ISDEAA to serve as providers for
health, housing, education, public safety, infrastructure, economic
development, natural resource management, nutrition, child and elder
care, and other social services; and
Whereas Indian Tribes have prospered from administering Federal programs for
their own benefit through ISDEAA: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes January 4, 2025, as the 50th anniversary of
the enactment of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) (referred to in this
resolution as ``ISDEAA'');
(2) commemorates the extensive achievements made by Indian
Tribes through implementation of ISDEAA and parallel
authorities in Federal law;
(3) reaffirms that ISDEAA--
(A) enhances the well-being of Tribal communities
through self-determination and self-governance;
(B) promotes the stability and prosperity of Indian
Tribes by empowering Indian Tribes to manage and
improve Federal programs; and
(C) respects the sovereign authority of Indian
Tribes to determine and implement solutions for their
own people;
(4) calls on the Federal Government to continue working
with Indian Tribes to fully uphold and implement ISDEAA and
parallel authorities in Federal law;
(5) reaffirms the fiduciary obligation of the United States
to respond to the strong expression of Native people for self-
determination and self-governance and to ensure that Federal
services are responsive to their unique needs;
(6) recommits to maintaining the continuing trust
relationship of the Federal Government with, and the
responsibility of the Federal Government to, Native people
through policies that promote self-determination and self-
governance;
(7) declares its commitment to support and assist Indian
Tribes in developing strong and stable governments capable of
administering Federal programs in service of their respective
communities; and
(8) celebrates the successes of Indian Tribes in fulfilling
the promise of self-determination and self-governance set forth
in ISDEAA during the 50-year period preceding the date of
adoption of this resolution, with optimism for the next 50
years and beyond.
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