STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Earlier this month
the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators adopted a resolution
Rep. Albert Hale, D-St. Michaels (District 7), sponsored which urges the
president and Congress to appoint federal court judges and Supreme Court
justices with knowledge of federal Indian law.
“Attacks on the
sovereignty of Indian nations are so often staged in federal courtrooms now,”
Hale said. “It is absolutely imperative that all branches of government in the
United States honor the sovereignty of Indian nations, and that can only happen
if the judges presiding over the cases involving Native American people know and
understand the inherent sovereign status of Indian nations.”
The Caucus sent a
copy of this resolution to all branches of the federal government, all state
governments and all Indian nation governments. Every year the members of the
National Caucus of Native American State Legislators meet to encourage
policymakers and the public to better understand state and tribal issues and to
promote legislation to achieve a better quality of life for Native American
people. This year, the Caucus met in Chicago and adopted three resolutions,
including Hale’s. Another resolution calls on Congress to eliminate the
disparity in criminal sentences and prison time served for those convicted in
federal versus state courts and to address the disproportionate effects of these
convictions on Native Americans and people of color.
“The legal system
should be fair,” Hale said. “It’s as simple as that. If it is not, if there is
disparity, we have an obligation to root it out and correct it.”
This Caucus delivered
this resolution to the president, members of Congress and the commissioners of
the United States Sentencing Commission. The third resolution offered support
for the use of biosimilars, or biologic drugs, to help increase access to
affordable medicine for Native American people. The Caucus agreed to educate
legislators about the availability of biosimilar drugs.
“This is a step
forward for Native American health care,” Hale said.
Hale served as the
vice chairman and can continue to serve as vice chair emeritus of the Caucus for
two more years. For more information on the National Caucus of Native American
State Legislators, go to http://www.ncsl.org/research/state-tribal-institute/national-caucus-native-american-state-legislators.aspx.
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Rep.
Hale is an enrolled member of the
Navajo Nation. He was born in Ganado and raised in Klagetoh, Arizona. He is
Ashiihi (Salt), born for Todichiini (Bitter Water). His maternal grandparents
are Hanaghani (Walk About clan). His paternal grandparents are Kiyanii (Tall
House clan). He is a 1969 graduate of Fort Wingate High School, a Bureau of
Indian Affairs boarding school located east of Gallup, New Mexico. He holds a
Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (1973),
and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law,
Albuquerque, New Mexico (1977), and an
honorary Juris Doctor degree from Phoenix School of Law (2012). He is the
former President of the Navajo Nation.
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