United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate
charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian
, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1947, after which it was folded into the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. A new Indian Affairs Committee was created in 1977, initially as a select committee, as a result of the detachment of indigenous affairs from the new Committee on Energy and National Resources, which had succeeded the old Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The committee was initially intended to be temporary, but was made permanent in 1984. The committee tends to include senators from Western
and Plains
states, who have more American Indian
constituents.
, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples and to propose legislation to alleviate these difficulties. These issues include, but are not limited to, Indian education, economic development, land management, trust responsibilities, health care, and claims against the United States. Additionally, all legislation proposed by Members of the Senate that specifically pertains to American Indians, Native Hawaiians, or Alaska Natives is under the jurisdiction of the committee.
By the mid-1960s, this Termination philosophy was in decline as a failed policy and the Congress began to include Indian tribes in legislation designed to rebuild the social infrastructure of the Nation and provide economic opportunities for economically depressed areas. In the early 1970s the Termination era was decisively ended with the enactment of the Menominee Restoration Act of 1973. Although a number of important legislative initiatives affecting Indians were enacted in the early 1970s, it became clear that the existing subcommittee structure was not providing an adequate forum for legislating appropriate solutions to problems confronting Indian country. Legislative jurisdiction over Indian affairs was fragmented among a number of committees. Overall, more than 10 committees in the Congress were responsible for Indian affairs, a situation which resulted in a sometimes disjointed treatment of Indian affairs and in an often haphazard development of Federal Indian policy.
introduced to establish a Federal commission to review all aspects of policy, law, and administration relating to affairs of the United States with American Indian tribes and people. The Senate and the House of Representatives both adopted S.J. Res. 133 and on January 2, 1975, the Resolution was signed into law by the President, thus establishing the American Indian Policy Review Commission. As the work of this Commission progressed, it became readily apparent that a full Senate committee with full legislative and oversight authority was needed to receive the report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and to act upon its recommendations. Indeed, one of the final recommendations of the Commission was that a full-fledged Indian Affairs Committee be established in the Senate.
At the same time the Commission was formulating its recommendation for the establishment of an Indian Affairs Committee, the Senate was developing a far-reaching proposal for reorganization of the entire Senate committee system. Under this proposal, the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs under the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs was to be abolished with its natural resource functions to be distributed among other newly formed Senate committees and its human resources functions to be transferred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. In view of the pending report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and its anticipated recommendations, however, the Senate revamped its committee reorganization proposal to include the establishment of a temporary select committee to receive the Commission's report and to act on its recommendations. Thus, there was included within of February 4, 1977, the Committee System Reorganization Amendments of 1977, a provision to establish a Select Committee on Indian Affairs with full jurisdiction over all proposed legislation and other matters relating to Indian affairs. With the commencement of the 96th Congress, the Select Committee on Indian Affairs was to expire and jurisdiction over Indian matters was to be transferred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
As the Select Committee on Indian Affairs grappled with the report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and the many other Indian issues that were presented to it during the 95th Congress, it became increasingly evident that if the Congress was to continue to meet its constitutional, legal, and historical responsibilities in the area of Indian affairs, an ongoing legislative committee with adequate expertise and resources should be re-established in the Senate.
, to make the Select Committee on Indian Affairs a permanent committee of the Senate, was introduced by Senator Abourezk on February 22, 1978. The measure was amended by the Rules Committee
to extend the life of the committee for two years until January 2, 1981, and was agreed to by the Senate on October 14, 1978. In the 96th Congress, Senator John Melcher
, who was at the time chairman of the Select Committee, introduced to make it a permanent committee. The Resolution had 28 cosponsors, and was reported by the Rules Committee with an amendment to extend the select committee to January 2, 1984, and to expand the membership to seven members commencing in the 97th Congress. S. Res. 448 was adopted by the Senate on December 11, 1980.
as Chairman and Senator Daniel K. Inouye as Vice-Chairman
.
Committee membership totaled 15 in the 105th, 106th, and 107th Congress and Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
served as Chairman during that time. In May 2001 Senator Jim Jeffords
left the Republican party to become an Independent and Senator Inouye became Chairman, presiding over the 15-member Committee
Daniel Akaka
of Hawaii
, and its Vice Chairman
is Republican
John Barrasso
of Wyoming
.
Source:
from 1947 to 1977, Indian Affairs were the responsibility of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, which was superseded by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in 1977.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1947, after which it was folded into the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. A new Indian Affairs Committee was created in 1977, initially as a select committee, as a result of the detachment of indigenous affairs from the new Committee on Energy and National Resources, which had succeeded the old Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The committee was initially intended to be temporary, but was made permanent in 1984. The committee tends to include senators from Western
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
and Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
states, who have more American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
constituents.
Summary
In 1977, the Senate approved which re-established the Committee on Indian Affairs as a temporary select committee. The Select Committee was to disband at the close of the 95th Congress, but following several interim extensions, the Senate voted to make the Committee permanent on June 6, 1984. The committee has jurisdiction to study the unique problems of American IndianNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples and to propose legislation to alleviate these difficulties. These issues include, but are not limited to, Indian education, economic development, land management, trust responsibilities, health care, and claims against the United States. Additionally, all legislation proposed by Members of the Senate that specifically pertains to American Indians, Native Hawaiians, or Alaska Natives is under the jurisdiction of the committee.
Early era
Until 1946, when the Legislative Reorganization Act abolished both the House and Senate Committees on Indian Affairs, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs had been in existence since the early 19th century. After 1946, Indian affairs legislative and oversight jurisdiction was vested in subcommittees of the Interior and Insular Affairs Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate. While this subcommittee arrangement may not have specifically reflected a diminishment of the consideration given Indian affairs by the Congress, the revised arrangement historically coincided with a 20-year hiatus in Indian affairs known as the "Termination Era" -- a period in which the prevailing policy of the United States was to terminate the Federal relationship with Indian tribes or transfer jurisdiction over tribal lands to the states.By the mid-1960s, this Termination philosophy was in decline as a failed policy and the Congress began to include Indian tribes in legislation designed to rebuild the social infrastructure of the Nation and provide economic opportunities for economically depressed areas. In the early 1970s the Termination era was decisively ended with the enactment of the Menominee Restoration Act of 1973. Although a number of important legislative initiatives affecting Indians were enacted in the early 1970s, it became clear that the existing subcommittee structure was not providing an adequate forum for legislating appropriate solutions to problems confronting Indian country. Legislative jurisdiction over Indian affairs was fragmented among a number of committees. Overall, more than 10 committees in the Congress were responsible for Indian affairs, a situation which resulted in a sometimes disjointed treatment of Indian affairs and in an often haphazard development of Federal Indian policy.
Re-Establishment of Committee
In 1973, Senator James AbourezkJames Abourezk
James George Abourezk is a former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator, and was the first Arab-American to serve in the United States Senate. He represented South Dakota in the U.S...
introduced to establish a Federal commission to review all aspects of policy, law, and administration relating to affairs of the United States with American Indian tribes and people. The Senate and the House of Representatives both adopted S.J. Res. 133 and on January 2, 1975, the Resolution was signed into law by the President, thus establishing the American Indian Policy Review Commission. As the work of this Commission progressed, it became readily apparent that a full Senate committee with full legislative and oversight authority was needed to receive the report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and to act upon its recommendations. Indeed, one of the final recommendations of the Commission was that a full-fledged Indian Affairs Committee be established in the Senate.
At the same time the Commission was formulating its recommendation for the establishment of an Indian Affairs Committee, the Senate was developing a far-reaching proposal for reorganization of the entire Senate committee system. Under this proposal, the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs under the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs was to be abolished with its natural resource functions to be distributed among other newly formed Senate committees and its human resources functions to be transferred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. In view of the pending report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and its anticipated recommendations, however, the Senate revamped its committee reorganization proposal to include the establishment of a temporary select committee to receive the Commission's report and to act on its recommendations. Thus, there was included within of February 4, 1977, the Committee System Reorganization Amendments of 1977, a provision to establish a Select Committee on Indian Affairs with full jurisdiction over all proposed legislation and other matters relating to Indian affairs. With the commencement of the 96th Congress, the Select Committee on Indian Affairs was to expire and jurisdiction over Indian matters was to be transferred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
As the Select Committee on Indian Affairs grappled with the report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and the many other Indian issues that were presented to it during the 95th Congress, it became increasingly evident that if the Congress was to continue to meet its constitutional, legal, and historical responsibilities in the area of Indian affairs, an ongoing legislative committee with adequate expertise and resources should be re-established in the Senate.
, to make the Select Committee on Indian Affairs a permanent committee of the Senate, was introduced by Senator Abourezk on February 22, 1978. The measure was amended by the Rules Committee
United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, with administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for dealing with contested elections.The committee...
to extend the life of the committee for two years until January 2, 1981, and was agreed to by the Senate on October 14, 1978. In the 96th Congress, Senator John Melcher
John Melcher
John Melcher is an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Montana as a member of the United States House of Representatives, and as a United States Senator from 1977 until 1989.-Early life:...
, who was at the time chairman of the Select Committee, introduced to make it a permanent committee. The Resolution had 28 cosponsors, and was reported by the Rules Committee with an amendment to extend the select committee to January 2, 1984, and to expand the membership to seven members commencing in the 97th Congress. S. Res. 448 was adopted by the Senate on December 11, 1980.
Permanent Committee
On April 28, 1983, Senator Mark Andrews, Chairman of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs in the 98th Congress, introduced to make the committee a permanent committee. This Resolution had 28 cosponsors. On November 1, 1983, the Committee on Rules and Administration voted unanimously to report the Resolution without amendment, and the Resolution was so reported on November 2, 1983 (S. Rept. 98-294). On November 18, the last day of the first session of the 98th Congress, the Senate agreed to an extension of the select committee to July 1, 1984, in order to allow time for later debate. By the time the Resolution was brought to the floor for consideration there were 60 cosponsors. On June 4, 1984, the Select Committee on Indian Affairs was made a permanent committee of the Senate. In 1993, the Select Committee on Indian Affairs was redesignated as the Committee on Indian Affairs.Membership
The number of members serving on the committee has expanded since its formation in 1977. At the time the committee was formed in the 95th Congress, there were five members. The membership remained at five in the 96th Congress, but grew to seven in the 97th Congress and the 98th Congress. The membership increased to nine in the 99th Congress, and by the 101st Congress, the committee membership grew to 10. In the 102nd Congress the membership of the Committee expanded to 16 members. A further increase occurred in the beginning of the 103rd Congress when the membership was expanded to 18. In the 104th Congress, the Senate named 17 of its members to serve on the Committee, and elected Senator John McCainJohn McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
as Chairman and Senator Daniel K. Inouye as Vice-Chairman
Ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party. Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. This second usage, often...
.
Committee membership totaled 15 in the 105th, 106th, and 107th Congress and Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell is an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005 and was during his tenure the only American Indian serving in the U.S. Congress. Campbell was a three term U.S. Representative from 1987 to 1993, when he was sworn into office as a...
served as Chairman during that time. In May 2001 Senator Jim Jeffords
Jim Jeffords
James Merrill "Jim" Jeffords is a former U.S. Senator from Vermont. He served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an independent. He retired from the Senate in 2006.-Background:...
left the Republican party to become an Independent and Senator Inouye became Chairman, presiding over the 15-member Committee
112th Congress
The committee is chaired by DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Kahikina Akaka is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only member of the Senate who has Chinese ancestry....
of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and its Vice Chairman
Ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party. Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. This second usage, often...
is Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
John Barrasso
John Barrasso
John Anthony Barrasso is the junior U.S. Senator from Wyoming and a member of the Republican Party. He was appointed to the Senate following Craig L. Thomas's death and won a special election in 2008 to fill the remaining four years of Thomas's term....
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
| Majority | Minority |
|---|---|
|
John Barrasso John Anthony Barrasso is the junior U.S. Senator from Wyoming and a member of the Republican Party. He was appointed to the Senate following Craig L. Thomas's death and won a special election in 2008 to fill the remaining four years of Thomas's term.... , Wyoming, Vice Chairman John McCain John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election.... , Arizona Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski is the senior U.S. Senator from the State of Alaska and a member of the Republican Party. She was appointed to the Senate in 2002 by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski. After losing a Republican primary in 2010, she became the second person ever to win a U.S... , Alaska John Hoeven John Henry Hoeven III is the junior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Republican Party. He is expected to become the state's senior senator when Kent Conrad retires from the Senate in January 2013.Hoeven served as the 31st Governor of North Dakota,... , North Dakota Mike Crapo Michael Dean "Mike" Crapo is the senior United States Senator from the state of Idaho and a member of the Republican Party.Born in the city of Idaho Falls, Crapo is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Harvard Law School. He practiced law in his home city throughout the 1980s, while... , Idaho Mike Johanns Michael Owen "Mike" Johanns is an American Republican politician who has been the junior United States Senator from Nebraska since 2009. Previously he was the 38th Governor of Nebraska from 1999 to 2005 and was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2005 to 2007, becoming the fourth Nebraskan to hold... , Nebraska |
Source:
Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 1820-1947
- David HolmesDavid Holmes (politician)David Holmes was the last governor of the Mississippi Territory and the first governor of the State of Mississippi.-Career:...
(R-MS) 1820-1821 - Henry JohnsonHenry Johnson (Louisiana)Henry Johnson was the fifth Governor of Louisiana, and served as a United States Representative and as a United States Senator....
(R-LA) 1821-1823 - Thomas Hart BentonThomas Hart Benton (senator)Thomas Hart Benton , nicknamed "Old Bullion", was a U.S. Senator from Missouri and a staunch advocate of westward expansion of the United States. He served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve five terms...
(R/D-LA) 1823-1828 - Hugh Lawson WhiteHugh Lawson WhiteHugh Lawson White was a prominent American politician during the first third of the 19th century. He succeeded Andrew Jackson and served in the United States Senate, representing Tennessee, from 1825 until his resignation in 1840, and was a Whig candidate for President in 1836...
(D-TN) 1828-1832 - George M. Troup (D-GA) 1832-1833
- Hugh Lawson WhiteHugh Lawson WhiteHugh Lawson White was a prominent American politician during the first third of the 19th century. He succeeded Andrew Jackson and served in the United States Senate, representing Tennessee, from 1825 until his resignation in 1840, and was a Whig candidate for President in 1836...
(W-TN) 1833-1840 - Ambrose Sevier (D-AR) 1840-1841
- James T. MoreheadJames Turner Morehead (Kentucky)James Turner Morehead was a United States Senator and the 12th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first native-born Kentuckian to hold the governorship of the state...
(W-KY) 1841-1842 - Albert WhiteAlbert White (U.S. Senator)Albert Smith White was a U.S. Senator and Representative from the state of Indiana.White was born in Orange County, New York. He graduated from Union College in Schenectady in 1822, after which he studied law; he entered practice as a lawyer in 1825...
(W-IN) 1842-1845 - Ambrose Sevier (D-AR) 1845-1846
- Arthur BagbyArthur P. BagbyArthur Pendleton Bagby was the tenth Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1837 to 1841. Born in Louisa County, Virginia in 1794, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1819, practicing in Claiborne, Alabama...
(D-AL) 1846-1847 - David R. Atchison (D-MO) 1847-1853
- William K. Sebastian (D-AR) 1853-1861
- James Rood DoolittleJames Rood DoolittleJames Rood Doolittle was an American politician who served as a senator from the state of Wisconsin from March 4, 1857, to March 4, 1869. He was a strong supporter of President Abraham Lincoln's administration during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:Born in Hampton, New York,...
(R-WI) 1861-1866 - John B. HendersonJohn B. HendersonJohn Brooks Henderson was a United States Senator from Missouri and a co-author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution....
(R-MO) 1866-1869 - James HarlanJames Harlan (senator)James Harlan was a member of the United States Senate and a U.S. Cabinet Secretary.-Biography:Harlan represented the state of Iowa in the United States Senate as a member of the Free Soil Party in 1855. In 1857 the Senate declared the seat vacant because of irregularities in the legislative...
(R-IA) 1869-1873 - William BuckinghamWilliam BuckinghamWilliam Buckingham VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Background:...
(R-CT) 1873-1875 - William B. AllisonWilliam B. AllisonWilliam Boyd Allison was an early leader of the Iowa Republican Party, who represented northeastern Iowa for four consecutive terms in the U.S. House before representing his state for six consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate...
(R-IA) 1875-1879 - Richard CokeRichard CokeRichard Coke was an American lawyer, farmer, and statesman from Waco, Texas. He was the 15th governor of Texas from 1874 to 1876 and represented Texas in the U.S. Senate from 1877 to 1895. His uncle was Congressman Richard Coke, Jr..Coke was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, to John and Eliza Coke...
(D-TX) 1879-1881 - Henry Dawes (R-MA) 1881-1893
- James K. Jones (D-AR) 1893-1895
- Richard Pettigrew (R-SD) 1895-1899
- John M. Thurston (R-NE) 1899-1901
- William Stewart (R-NV) 1901-1905
- Moses E. ClappMoses E. ClappMoses Edwin Clapp was an American lawyer and politician.He served as the Minnesota Attorney General from 1887 until 1893. In 1900, he entered the special election for Minnesota's seat in the United States Senate that was made vacant by the death of Cushman Davis. He won that election, and was...
(R-MN) 1905-1911 - Robert J. GambleRobert J. GambleRobert Jackson Gamble was a U.S. Representative and Senator from South Dakota. He was the father of Ralph Abernethy Gamble and brother of John Rankin Gamble....
(R-SD) 1911-1913 - William J. StoneWilliam J. StoneWilliam Joel Stone was a Democratic politician from Missouri who represented his state in the United States House of Representatives from 1885 to 1891, and in the U.S...
(D-MO) 1913-1914 - Henry F. AshurstHenry F. AshurstHenry Fountain Ashurst was an American Democratic politician and one of the first two Senators from Arizona. Largely self-educated, he served as a district attorney and member of the Arizona Territorial legislature before fulfilling his childhood ambition of joining the United States Senate...
(D-AZ) 1914-1919 - Charles CurtisCharles CurtisCharles Curtis was a United States Representative, a longtime United States Senator from Kansas later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States...
(R-KS) 1919-1921 - Selden P. SpencerSelden P. SpencerSelden Palmer Spencer was a United States Senator from Missouri. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, he attended the public schools there and graduated from Yale College in 1884 and from the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1886. He was admitted to the bar, commencing...
(R-MO) 1921-1923 - John W. HarreldJohn W. HarreldJohn William Harreld was a United States Representative and Senator from Oklahoma. Harreld was the first Republican senator elected in Oklahoma and represented a shift in Oklahoma politics.-Early life and career:...
(R-OK) 1923-1927 - Lynn J. Frazier (R-ND) 1927-1933
- Burton K. WheelerBurton K. WheelerBurton Kendall Wheeler was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a United States Senator from 1923 until 1947.-Early life:...
(D-MT) 1933-1936 - Elmer Thomas (D-OK) 1936-1945
- Joseph O'Mahoney (D-WY) 1945-1947
from 1947 to 1977, Indian Affairs were the responsibility of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, which was superseded by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in 1977.
Chairmen of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, 1977-1993
- James AbourezkJames AbourezkJames George Abourezk is a former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator, and was the first Arab-American to serve in the United States Senate. He represented South Dakota in the U.S...
(D-SD) 1977-1979 - John MelcherJohn MelcherJohn Melcher is an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Montana as a member of the United States House of Representatives, and as a United States Senator from 1977 until 1989.-Early life:...
(D-MT) 1979-1981 - William S. Cohen (R-ME) 1981-1983
- Mark Andrews (R-ND) 1983-1987
- Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) 1987-1993
Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 1993-present
- Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) 1993-1995
- John McCainJohn McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
(R-AZ) 1995-1997 - Ben Nighthorse CampbellBen Nighthorse CampbellBenjamin Nighthorse Campbell is an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005 and was during his tenure the only American Indian serving in the U.S. Congress. Campbell was a three term U.S. Representative from 1987 to 1993, when he was sworn into office as a...
(R-CO) 1997-2001 - - Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) 2001
- Ben Nighthorse CampbellBen Nighthorse CampbellBenjamin Nighthorse Campbell is an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005 and was during his tenure the only American Indian serving in the U.S. Congress. Campbell was a three term U.S. Representative from 1987 to 1993, when he was sworn into office as a...
(R-CO) 2001 - Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) 2001-2003
- Ben Nighthorse CampbellBen Nighthorse CampbellBenjamin Nighthorse Campbell is an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005 and was during his tenure the only American Indian serving in the U.S. Congress. Campbell was a three term U.S. Representative from 1987 to 1993, when he was sworn into office as a...
(R-CO) 2003-2005 - John McCainJohn McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
(R-AZ) 2005-2007 - Byron DorganByron DorganByron Leslie Dorgan is a former United States Senator from North Dakota and is now a senior policy advisor for a Washington, DC law firm. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party. In the Senate, he was Chairman of the Democratic...
(D-ND) 2007-2011 - Daniel AkakaDaniel AkakaDaniel Kahikina Akaka is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only member of the Senate who has Chinese ancestry....
(D-HI) 2011-present