August 4th, 2021 | JNCL Newsroom
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led committee passage of S.989, the Native American Language Resource Center Act of 2021, and S.1402, the Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act of 2021, named after Cherokee linguist and Vietnam veteran Durbin Feeling, who passed away in 2020. The committee previously received testimony on these two bipartisan bills during an oversight and legislative hearing this past May.
The Native American Language Resource Center Act and The Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act provide vital pathways to empower Native American communities and ensure equitable access to the robust resources necessary to sustain and revitalize Native American languages. The advancement of both bipartisan pieces of legislation sends a clear message to our advocates and Native Americans across the nation that the United States Senate is committed to upholding the promise of the Native American Languages Act of 1990. JNCL-NCLIS is grateful for the leadership of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and its continued work to support Native American language communities.
