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S. HRG. 111–97 

NOMINATION OF LARRY J. ECHO HAWK TO 

BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN 

AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

MAY 7, 2009 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs 

( 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota, Chairman 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Vice Chairman 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii 

KENT CONRAD, North Dakota 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

JON TESTER, Montana 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

lllll, lllll 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

ALLISON C. BINNEY, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

DAVID A. MULLON JR., Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on May 7, 2009 ................................................................................. 1 

Statement of Senator Barrasso ............................................................................... 40 

Statement of Senator Bennett ................................................................................ 7 

Statement of Senator Conrad ................................................................................. 8 

Statement of Senator Crapo ................................................................................... 6 

Statement of Senator Dorgan ................................................................................. 1 

Statement of Senator Inouye .................................................................................. 4 

Statement of Senator McCain ................................................................................. 44 

Statement of Senator Tester ................................................................................... 43 

Statement of Senator Udall .................................................................................... 39 

WITNESSES

Coby, Hon. Alonzo, Chairman, Fort Hall Business Council for the ShoshoneBannock Tribes ..................................................................................................... 9 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10 

Echo Hawk, Larry J., Nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, 

U.S. Department of the Interior ......................................................................... 11 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 13 

Biographical information ................................................................................. 16 

APPENDIX

Echo Hawk, Larry J., Brigham Young University devotional address ............... 51 

Response to written questions submitted to Larry J. Echo Hawk by: 

Hon. Daniel K. Akaka ...................................................................................... 71 

Hon. John Barrasso .......................................................................................... 64 

Hon. Maria Cantwell ........................................................................................ 72 

Hon. Tom Coburn, M.D. ................................................................................... 74 

Hon. Byron L. Dorgan ...................................................................................... 57 

Hon. Dianne Feinstein ..................................................................................... 84 

Hon. John McCain ............................................................................................ 75 

Hon. Jon Tester ................................................................................................ 78 

Hon. Tom Udall ................................................................................................ 82 

Letters, in support of the nomination of Larry J. Echo Hawk: 

American Indian Law Center, Inc. .................................................................. 86 

California Indian Legal Services ..................................................................... 88 

Cherokee Nation ............................................................................................... 90 

Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation ........ 96 

Confederate Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians ............. 99 

Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians ...................................................... 100 

Kootenai Tribe of Idaho ................................................................................... 101 

Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin ........................................................... 102 

Mohegan Tribe of Indians ................................................................................ 103 

National Congress of American Indians ......................................................... 91 

National Indian Education Association .......................................................... 94 

Osage Nation .................................................................................................... 104 

Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma ........................................................................... 105 

Poarch Band of Creek Indians ........................................................................ 95 

Pueblo of Jemez ................................................................................................ 106 

Puyallup Tribe of Indians ................................................................................ 110 

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community .............................................. 98 

Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska .................................................... 111 

Tulalip Tribes ................................................................................................... 112 

United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. ........................................................... 89 

(1) 

NOMINATION OF LARRY J. ECHO HAWK TO 

BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN 

AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE 

INTERIOR 

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2009 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:20 p.m. in room 

628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Byron L. Dorgan, 

Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BYRON L. DORGAN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA 

The CHAIRMAN. I bring this Committee to order. This is a hearing of the Indian Affairs Committee in the United States Senate. 

We are gathered today to examine the President’s nomination of 

Larry Echo Hawk to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs 

at the Department of Interior. 

We have a vote occurring right now, so some of our colleagues 

will be delayed just a bit, but we appreciate the opportunity to 

have Mr. Echo Hawk with us today. 

Let me just remind my colleagues that Yvette Roubideaux last 

evening was confirmed as the head of the Indian Health Service. 

We reported that nomination out of this Committee last week, so 

last evening that nomination was confirmed by the United States 

Senate. That is a very important thing to have happen. I am so 

pleased that she is willing to serve. 

And not only is she confirmed now by the United States, but 

today we take up the nomination of Larry Echo Hawk. My hope 

would be that this Committee will be able to following today receive all of the papers that have been sent to us, and at the business meeting next week now scheduled for this Committee, take action on Mr. Echo Hawk’s nomination and then move it to the floor 

of the Senate where I hope it can be acted on very quickly. 

I want to state at the start of this hearing my strong support for 

Mr. Echo Hawk’s nomination. He has a strong background in Indian affairs managing the legal team and legal issues for the State 

of Idaho as Attorney General, and he has dedicated his career to 

education and to the improvement of the lives of Indian people. 

A background in education, public safety and management are 

sorely needed at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian AfVerDate Nov 24 2008 11:24 Nov 30, 2009 Jkt 052367 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\52367.TXT JACK PsN: JACKF
2 

fairs. I have spoken previously from this dais about the unbelievable bureaucracy that exists in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I have 

sometimes described dealing with the BIA very much like walking 

through wet cement. It is pretty slow going. 

I want the BIA to work. I want it to work well for the benefit 

of the first Americans, American Indians. And we have had I think 

in the last eight years, half of those years we have been without 

an Assistant Secretary to run the BIA. That is just a tragic failure. 

And so I am strongly supportive of Mr. Echo Hawk, and want 

him to be confirmed as soon as possible to take the reins at the 

BIA and begin a significant management effort to use the funding 

that is available to improve the lives of American Indians. 

I just was looking at four of the past eight years that we have 

not had an Assistant Secretary. It is even more shameful. 

The United States Government holds treaty and trust responsibilities and obligations to Indian tribes and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is the primary official in the 

Department of the Interior that is tasked with upholding these obligations. Through oversight of the BIA and other offices, the Assistant Secretary is responsible for providing education services, 

public safety, and economic opportunity to the Country’s 562 Indian tribes. 

Sadly, it is news to no one that many tribal communities lag far 

behind the rest of the Nation in all three of those categories. It is 

I think a very difficult situation to take a look at education, housing and health care on a lot of reservations and understand that 

the first Americans are often getting second choice in education, 

housing and health care, and that should not be the case. 

I had a long discussion with Mr. Echo Hawk about the issue of 

health care, education and housing. Health care, of course, is principally Indian Health Service, but the BIA will also play a role in 

that. We also talked about the issue of justice and law enforcement, 

on which this Committee has held hearings. 

The lack of economic opportunity on Indian reservations is also 

very significant. We have unemployment rates averaging 50 percent for decades. In the Great Plains region, the reservation unemployment is over 70 percent. This chart shows some of those numbers. And we need to change that. 

3 

I am confident that Mr. Echo Hawk will provide the leadership 

that the BIA has needed for far too long. His nomination has the 

support of the National Congress of American Indians, many Indian tribes and organizations, and as this Committee will soon 

hear, he has strong support from Members of the United States 

Senate. 

Before I recognize the Vice Chairman, I want to clarify the process again for moving forward with the nomination. Mr. Echo Hawk, 

Members of this Committee will hear your testimony, your statement today, following which we will ask questions of you this afternoon and perhaps more will be submitted to you in writing. Once 

we have received responses to those questions, which I would hope 

would be in a day or two, we will seek to report out your nomination at the next scheduled business meeting. 

I have not consulted with all the Members of the Committee on 

that yet, but my hope would be and my expectation would be that 

we would be able to do that. 

The CHAIRMAN. We are joined by the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Barrasso. Let me recognize Senator Barrasso for an 

opening statement. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I do have an opening statement with a number of colleagues here 

who I know their time is limited, I would like to defer to them with 

your permission, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection. 

And let me say that we have Senator Inouye with us, the former 

Chairman of this Committee. We are delighted he is here. And 


507e1.eps
4 

then Senator Crapo and Senator Bennett both wish to make statements as well. 

So Senator Inouye, you, I believe, have to be at the Capitol at 

2:30. Let me recognize you, and welcome you again to the Committee. 

STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. INOUYE, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII 

Senator INOUYE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. 

I am honored to present to the Committee a very distinguished 

American who was just nominated by the President of the United 

States to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Mr. Larry Echo Hawk. 

Mr. Chairman, I have known the members of the Echo Hawk 

family for over two decades. I first came to know Larry Echo 

Hawk’s older brother John, who has had a long and distinguished 

career serving the native people of this land, including his service 

as the Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund. 

Then I met John’s and Larry’s sister Lucille, who I believe still 

works with the Casey Family Foundation on the critically important matters associated with Indian child welfare. 

And then just about 20 years ago, I had the privilege of meeting 

Larry Echo Hawk, who was then serving as the Attorney General 

of Idaho, and who to the best of my knowledge was the first Native 

American to serve as Attorney General in any of our 50 States. 

And at that time, this Committee was engaged in ongoing dialogue with Governors and Attorneys General from the States in 

which Indian gaming was being conducted under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and tribal government leaders from each of 

these States. 

In the course of that year-long effort, I came to know a few of 

the Attorneys General such as the distinguished Senator from New 

Mexico and a Member of this Committee, Senator Tom Udall, who 

was then serving as Attorney General of New Mexico. We spent a 

lot of time together over that year, and from Tom and others I 

learned that a very interesting dynamic had taken place when 

Larry Echo Hawk first joined the ranks of the States’ chief legal 

officers. 

I was told at first the Attorneys General were a bit uncomfortable about having a person of Indian descent in their midst. After 

all, relations between the State and tribal governments had not always been the best, to say the least. And other Attorneys General 

readily acknowledged that their discussions about their relations 

with Indian Country were not always filled with happiness. 

But apparently as these Attorneys General came to know Larry 

Echo Hawk, they realized that some of their perceptions of Indian 

people and Indian Country were not based on personal experience, 

but based on something closer to biased cultural stereotypes. They 

told me that Larry’s integrity and intelligence had impressed them 

and that they had come to know him as an Attorney General who 

was not so different than they were, and who clearly felt that his 

responsibility as chief legal officer of Idaho was to all the citizens, 

all the citizens of the State of Idaho. 

5 

The fact that Larry was of native ancestry was not something 

that Larry brought to the table, but over time the fact that his native ancestry helped him become more sensitive to how they spoke 

about Indian people and how they interacted with tribal leaders. 

Each of the Members of this Committee have all of Echo Hawk’s 

biographical information and his record of professional experience 

before us, so I will not take your time to repeat what is known 

about this person. 

But for those of you in the audience today, I think you should 

know that Larry Echo Hawk earned his law degree in 1973 from 

the University of Utah, and following graduate business studies at 

Stanford. Larry began his legal career working for the California 

Indian Legal Services Program, and thereafter worked for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation for eight 

years. 

I mention this aspect of his early professional life because I believe that Larry Echo Hawk is not only a man who is deeply rooted 

in the values that we all share and respect, but a man who understands the many challenges that Indian Country has been confronted with throughout our long history as a Nation. 

Larry Echo Hawk is an enrolled member of the Pawnee Tribe 

and like so many of our great Indian leaders, he volunteered his 

service to our Country in the U.S. Marine Corps. For the past 14 

years, Larry Echo Hawk has served as a law professor on the faculty of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. A review of his published works over the past 17 years makes 

very clear that Larry has always remained deeply interested in and 

committed to addressing issues of importance and concern to Indian Country. 

I believe that Larry Echo Hawk is extraordinarily well prepared 

by his life experience and his long professional career in the law 

to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in President 

Obama’s Administration. And therefore I am delighted and proud 

today to have the honor of introducing Larry Echo Hawk to the 

Members of this Committee. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Inouye, thank you very much. 

Again, you serve on this Committee, but have been Chairman for 

many years of this Committee and your thoughts and advice are 

really valuable to us. We appreciate very much your testimony. 

Senator INOUYE. I would like to have your permission, Mr. Chairman, to leave because I have another meeting to attend, and I regret I can’t stay here. 

The CHAIRMAN. We thank you very much for being here, Senator 

Inouye. 

Senator INOUYE. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Crapo, who is a personal friend from 

Idaho, I am going to call on him, and then Senator Bennett to discuss a fellow Utahan. 

So let me call on the two of them who have requested the opportunity to speak. 

6 

STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE CRAPO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO 

Senator CRAPO. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Senator 

Barrasso. I truly appreciate the opportunity to introduce my personal friend, Larry Echo Hawk, today to the Committee on this important occasion. 

I am pleased that President Obama has nominated Larry for the 

important position of Assistant Secretary of Interior for Indian Affairs. Our fellow Idahoans are rightly proud that some of his greatest political and professional successes have been during his time 

in Idaho, and I congratulate Larry and his wife Terry and their 

children and grandchildren on this distinct honor for this selection. 

Larry’s diverse background and professional experiences make 

him an outstanding candidate for this position. Although his 

Pawnee Tribe background has made him many times a first in elective office, Larry’s real legacy is the high regard in which he is held 

by so many who have worked with him. 

Larry served as Bannock County Prosecuting Attorney and as a 

two-term member of the Idaho State House of Representatives. He 

and I served in the State Legislature together, he as a member of 

the House and I as a member of the Senate, until the time that 

he then ran for and was elected to be the Attorney General of the 

State of Idaho. 

And I remember times sitting down at dinner after a legislative 

session in Boise, Idaho and talking about how to improve government, just as Larry and I have the opportunity to do so a couple 

of nights ago here in Washington, D.C. 

I know him and his work well, and his commitment. I am very 

confident in his service. 

Since his time in elective office, Larry has taught criminal law 

and Native American law at Brigham Young University, which is 

our alma mater, where I understand you also played football. And 

Larry is also the Senior Partner of the Echo Hawk Law Offices, 

which have among their clients the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe of 

Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho, to which you have been I 

think General Counsel since 1977. 

The challenge for the Bureau of Indian Affairs remains the same 

as it ever was: to do as much as possible to fulfill the trustee responsibility of the Federal Government for the Native Americans. 

Unfortunately, I agree with the Chairman. While so much has been 

done, for too long now this trustee responsibility has suffered 

through periods characterized by confusion, neglect, underfunding, 

conflict and miscommunication. 

While much has been done in recent years to address the historic 

problems plaguing the Bureau-administered programs, so much 

more needs to be done. Per person outlays for tribal health services, while never a perfect measure of a program’s effectiveness, lag 

well behind comparative funding through Medicare and Medicaid. 

Investments in tribal education, justice, housing and transportation 

are also chronically short-changed. 

And I realize we can’t expect that Larry will change this overnight, but I am confident that he will make great strides in improving this circumstance, and look forward to working with him. 

7 

Funding issues are not the only way to help our tribes. Appropriate respect for sovereignty is also a persistent challenge that the 

Federal Government can help promote by example. In our State, 

the federally recognized tribes have demonstrated tribal capacity to 

be a real player in problem solving. 

The Nez Perce Tribe provides the monitoring of wolf recovery on 

behalf of the Federal and State governments. The Kootenai Tribe 

is the first tribe to sign an MOU with the Department of Homeland 

Security to use its identity cards for valid cross-border travel, and 

manages important salmon hatcheries that help us recover endangered fish stocks. 

The Shoshone-Paiutes in Southwest Idaho played a major part in 

bringing to fruition to Owyhee Initiative Management statute that 

we just passed here in the Senate. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe remains a major partner in the implementation of the Lake Management Plan for Coeur d’Alene. And the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, as 

Larry knows well, are a major leader in the environmental protection of Southeast Idaho. 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I believe Larry 

Echo Hawk has the background and the temperament to bring 

proper attention to the needs and the problems facing our Nation’s 

tribes. His service in the public and in the private sector, as well 

as his role as a Native American pioneer, demonstrate the capacity 

to do well in the difficult position of Assistant Secretary for Indian 

Affairs. 

As a fellow Idahoan and an advocate for Idaho’s tribes, I am 

pleased to present Larry Echo Hawk to the Committee for Senate 

consideration. If he is confirmed, I look forward to working with 

him again in his new position to promote the needs of Native 

Americans. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Crapo, thank you very much. 

Senator Bennett? 

STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT F. BENNETT, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM UTAH 

Senator BENNETT. Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Chairman, 

to be with you. 

You have heard the background of the nominee. I would just 

point out that he first came to Utah to play football at BYU on a 

scholarship, and then he earned his juris doctor from the University of Utah. That is a little like playing for Harvard and then getting your law degree from Yale, or going to UCLA and then graduating from USC. Whatever. And if he can bridge that gap, he is 

qualified to negotiate just about anything. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BENNETT. So he has had a distinguished career in Idaho, 

as has been described, but he is also had a distinguished teaching 

career in Utah at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham 

Young. 

So he brings a wide range of skills and activities to this. It is not 

just his training. It is his life experience that I think qualify him 

for this. And I expect he will bring a fresh approach to the department. There are not too many people who serve in the Executive 

8 

Branch who have won an election, first to a State legislature and 

then to an executive assignment as Attorney General. Understanding those aspects of government is an experience that I think 

will serve him very well now that he is at the Federal level. 

He has an understanding of the differences between tribal rights 

and sovereignty and States’ rights. He has represented tribes as an 

advocate, and then has dealt with the problems himself as a teacher as he has had to look at all of the aspects of it. 

So I consider him a dedicated public servant and an excellent 

choice for this assignment, and I am pleased on behalf of his 

friends and colleagues in the State of Utah to add my voice to the 

chorus that is saying let’s get him confirmed and in place as quickly as we possibly can. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Bennett, thank you. 

Senator Conrad? 

STATEMENT OF HON. KENT CONRAD, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA 

Senator CONRAD. Just very briefly, Mr. Chairman. 

First of all, thank you for holding this hearing. This is a position 

that has been open now for about a year, so it is critically important that we act quickly and that we get this right. I think with 

the nomination of Larry Echo Hawk, we have the chance to get this 

right. 

I have been very impressed by what I have learned of his reputation and his professional career. That is just confirmed by hearing 

from our colleagues, Senator Crapo who knows him personally, and 

of course Senator Bennett from Utah, a State where Mr. Echo 

Hawk has been so involved. 

I had a chance to meet with Mr. Echo Hawk yesterday and we 

talked about a whole series of issues critically important in Indian 

Country in my State, but more than just my State, across the 

Country as well: education, economic development, health care, 

housing, energy development. These issues, along with law enforcement and many others, we had a chance to visit about yesterday. 

One of the things I would like to say to Mr. Echo Hawk is we 

just had Secretary Salazar come to our State last month, and had 

a meeting with the leaders of our tribes. He had a first-hand 

chance to see the challenges that we are confronting in North Dakota. I hope after your confirmation that at an early opportunity 

you will have a chance to come to our State and visit personally. 

We would certainly welcome you. 

I really am encouraged that somebody of your quality and your 

character is willing to take up this challenge. I believe this is one 

of the toughest jobs in Federal Government. I said that to you yesterday, and I think you are equal to it. 

So all of us I think are willing and eager to work with you to 

make improvements and to have a significant step forward for Indian Country. I know I certainly have that feeling, and again thank 

you, Mr. Echo Hawk, for being willing to take on this responsibility. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Conrad, thank you very much. 

9 

Mr. Echo Hawk, we will get to you, but first we are going to hear 

from the Chairman of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe in Fort Hall, 

Idaho, the Honorable Alonzo Coby. 

STATEMENT OF HON. ALONZO COBY, CHAIRMAN, FORT HALL 

BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR THE SHOSHONE–BANNOCK TRIBES 

Mr. COBY. Good afternoon, Chairman Dorgan, Vice Chairman 

Barrasso, Senator Crapo and other Members of the Committee. 

Again, I am Alonzo Coby. I am the Chairman of the Fort Hall 

Business Council, which is a governing body of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes located in Southeastern Idaho. Our enrolled membership is 5,300 tribal members and our reservation is 544,000 acres 

of land, of which 98 percent is held in trust status. We are very 

proud of that. 

The reason I am here today, I am very honored and privileged 

to introduce and express strong support for the nomination of 

Larry Echo Hawk as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. As you 

know, the United States Government and its agencies have an important trust relationship with Indian tribes. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes look forward to the Federal Government to fulfill its 

trust responsibilities in the areas of environmental protection, law 

enforcement, health, education, trust reform, treaty rights, and 

other important areas. 

The issues I mention are pressing issues in Indian Country and 

the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs plays a critical role in 

addressing these issues. Larry is uniquely qualified for this job. 

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes fully support Larry. I know the 

other Idaho tribe also support his nomination. 

Larry began representing the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in 1977 

and served for nearly nine years as the tribe’s Chief Counsel. He 

provided diligent and faithful services during these years and has 

his boys, Paul and Mark, and I am very blessed to have the as our 

legal counsel. 

During his time as the tribal attorney, he also served two terms 

in the Idaho legislature and worked hand in hand with the Idaho 

tribal leaders in Idaho to advance tribal interests. Larry played a 

significant role in the Idaho legislature on passage of many laws 

that respected tribal sovereignty such as the Tribal-State Relations 

Act, Federal Site Protections Act, and legislation to authorize State 

agencies to enter into agreements with tribal governments. 

Much of this was brought about due to his efforts to create the 

State Indian Affairs Committee. In 1986, he became the prosecuting attorney for Bannock County, Idaho’s fourth-largest county 

that borders the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. He demonstrated a 

continual respect for the tribal sovereignty. 

In 1990, he was elected as Idaho’s Attorney General and became 

the first Native American in United States history to become elected to statewide office. As Attorney General, he supported legislative efforts to protect native religious freedom, treaty rights, and 

other matters impacting tribes. He also led efforts to improve 

State-Tribal relations to the Conference of Western Attorneys General. Although he served as a State attorney, the door was always 

open to Idaho tribes. 

10 

I thank the Committee for expediting the consideration of Mr. 

Echo Hawk’s nomination and urge the Senate to confirm his as 

quickly as possible, given all the urgent needs in Indian Country 

that on hold pending his confirmation. 

And again, thank you for the opportunity to let me introduce Mr. 

Echo Hawk and I express our support for his nomination. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Coby follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. ALONZO COBY, CHAIRMAN, FORT HALL BUSINESS

COUNCIL FOR THE SHOSHONE-BANNOCK TRIBES

Good afternoon Chairman Dorgan, Vice-Chairman Barrasso, Senator Crapo, and 

other Members of the Committee. My name is Alonzo Coby and I serve as Chairman 

of the Fort Hall Business Council, which is the governing body of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in southeast Idaho. I am 

honored to be here today to introduce and express support for the nomination of 

Larry Echo Hawk as the next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. 

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are a federally recognized Indian tribe organized 

under Sections 16 and 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The Shoshone 

and Bannock people are comprised of several related bands whose aboriginal territories include land in what are now the states of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, 

Colorado, Oregon, and parts of Montana and California. In 1867, President Andrew 

Johnson by Executive Order designated the Fort Hall Indian Reservation for various 

Shoshone and Bannock bands that occupied the area since time immemorial. On 

July 3, 1868, the Shoshone and Bannock Tribes concluded the Second Treaty of Fort 

Bridger, which was ratified by the United States Senate on February 24, 1869. Article 4 of the Fort Bridger treaty reserved the Reservation as a ‘‘permanent home’’ 

to the signatory tribes. Although the Fort Bridger Treaty called for the Reservation 

to be approximately 1.8 million acres, various ‘‘surveying errors’’ in 1873 reduced 

its actual size to approximately 1.2 million acres. 

One of the United States’ purposes in setting aside the Fort Hall Indian Reservation was to protect the Tribes’ rights and to preserve for them a home where their 

tribal relations might be enjoyed under shelter of authority of the United States. 

Subsequent cession agreements with the United States reduced the Fort Hall Indian 

Reservation to the present day size of 544,000 acres. Of the 544,000 acres, 97% of 

the land is Tribal land or held by the United States for the benefit of the Tribes 

or its individual members. The Tribes’ territory is the largest Reservation in Idaho 

and forms a large cohesive geographic area that supports a population of over 6,000 

people and provides an irreplaceable homeland for economic activity and cultural 

practices based on strong religious traditions premised on the sacredness of land. 

Our current Tribal enrollment is approximately 5,300 members. 

The Fort Hall Reservation is blessed with an extensive biodiversity including 

rangelands, croplands, forests, streams, three major rivers (the Snake, Blackfoot, 

and Portneuf), reservoirs, springs, and wetland areas, an abundance of medicinal 

and edible plants, wildlife (elk, deer, moose, bison, big horn sheep, etc.), various species of fish, birds, and other animal life. The Reservation lands are mountainous 

and semi-desert, and overlays the Snake River aquifer, a large groundwater resource. The culture and continued existence of the Shoshone and Bannock peoples 

depend on these resources. 

As you know, the United States government and its agencies have an important 

trust relationship with Indian tribes. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes look to the federal government to fulfill this trust responsibility in areas of environmental protection, law enforcement, health, education, trust reform, land management, protection 

of treaty rights, and other important areas. 

The issues of concern I have mentioned are among many that are common to Indian Country. Larry Echo Hawk is uniquely qualified to address them as the next 

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes fully support 

Larry Echo Hawk and have full confidence in his strong commitment to Tribal sovereignty and Indian interests. I note that other Idaho tribes have also voiced their 

support for Mr. Echo Hawk’s nomination. 

Mr. Echo Hawk began representing the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in 1977 and 

served for nearly nine years as the Tribes’ chief general legal counsel. At that time, 

he was one of the first Native American lawyers entrusted with the responsibility 

as the primary attorney for a large Indian tribe. He provided diligent and faithful 

service during these years. During his time as Tribal Attorney, he also served two 

11 

terms in the Idaho legislature and worked hand-in-hand with Tribal leaders in 

Idaho to advance tribal interests. It was during his time in the legislature that positive laws respecting tribal sovereignty were passed for the first time in Idaho history, and Mr. Echo Hawk played a significant role in their passage. These laws include the State-Tribal Relations Act, the Tribal tobacco sales tax exemption, the Indian Antiquities and Burial Site Protection Act, and the amendment to the State 

Joint Powers Act to authorize state agencies to enter into agreements with Tribal 

governments, to name a few. Much of this was brought about due to Mr. Echo 

Hawk’s efforts to help create a State Indian Affairs Committee. 

He ended his position as the Tribes’ general legal counsel in 1986 on good terms 

with the Tribes to become the prosecuting attorney for Bannock County, Idaho’s 

fourth largest county that borders the Fort Hall Reservation. While he served as 

prosecutor, he demonstrated a continual respect for tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction by deferring cases to the Tribes that could have been prosecuted under Public 

280. In 1990 he was elected as Idaho’s Attorney General, and became the first Native American in United States history to be elected to a state-wide constitutional 

political office. As Attorney General, he supported legislation and efforts to protect 

native religious freedoms, salmon treaty fishing rights, and other legal matters impacting tribal sovereignty. While Attorney General, Mr. Echo Hawk also lead efforts 

to improve state-tribal relations through the Conference of Western Attorneys General. Although he served as the State’s attorney, the door was always open Idaho 

tribes. 

The Echo Hawk law firm has provided nearly ten years of legal services to the 

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and continues to provide excellent legal services. While 

we recognize that Mr. Echo Hawk’s prior service as the Tribes’ legal counsel and 

work with the Echo Hawk law firm may require his recusal from working on issues 

directly relating to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, we are confident that Mr. Echo 

Hawk’s service as Assistant Secretary will be beneficial to all of Indian Country. 

In sum, we are proud to support Larry Echo Hawk’s nomination as the next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. We are confident that he will do an outstanding 

job in continuing his efforts to advance Tribal sovereignty and economic self-sufficiency. Thank you for this opportunity to introduce Mr. Echo Hawk and express our 

support for his nomination. 

The CHAIRMAN. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Echo Hawk, those are very powerful recommendations we 

have heard about you. The more friends one has, the longer the 

Committee hearing takes, and you have a lot of friends obviously. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Let me recognize you for your statement, and say 

at the start of the statement if you have family members present 

that you wish to introduce, please feel free to do that at the start 

of your statement. 

Mr. Echo Hawk, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF LARRY J. ECHO HAWK, NOMINEE TO BE 

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Vice Chairman 

Barrasso and Members of the Committee. 

I am honored to appear before you today seeking your confirmation for my nomination to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian 

Affairs. 

I have with me today my wife Terry. We have been married for 

more than 40 years. We have six children, five of which are here 

today. Perhaps they could stand: Jenny, Paul, Mark, Matt and 

Emily. Three of these handsome young men are lawyers. Law is 

the family profession. 

And also with me today are three of my siblings: Mary Adamson, 

Lucille Echo Hawk and John Echo Hawk. 

12 

I am proud to say that members of my family have been committed advocates for Native American people for many years. 

I am a member of the Pawnee Nation and have been blessed 

with a good education and a broad base of experience that I believe 

qualifies me to serve as the next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. 

I was born in Cody, Wyoming while my father worked in the oil 

and gas business. My family eventually settled in Farmington, New 

Mexico and I attended public schools in Farmington through high 

school. Farmington is right across the river from the largest Indian 

reservation in the United States, the Navajo Nation. 

I attended Brigham Young University on a football scholarship 

and I think it is worthy of special mention that a Federal program 

known as the Special Scholarship Program in Law for American Indians made it possible for me to graduate from law school at the 

University of Utah. 

For 14 years after that graduation, I worked in the practice of 

Indian law, first as a staff attorney for the California Indian Legal 

Services in Northern California, and then eventually I relocated 

back to Utah to start out as a sole practitioner. My law practice 

was focused on representing American Indians, and I built that law 

practice up to a seven-attorney firm including six Native American 

lawyers. 

In 1977, my goal was realized of becoming a tribal attorney when 

I was selected by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to serve as their 

Chief General Legal Counsel. And I believe that I was one of the 

first Native American lawyers to ever be entrusted with the responsibility to represent a large Indian Nation, and I appreciate 

the confidence that they displayed in me. 

As an Indian law practitioner, I learned about the challenges facing Native American communities and the complex system of laws 

that affect the lives of people living within Indian reservations. 

It was during that time that I served as a senior lawyer for the 

tribe that I was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives, and 

I seized that opportunity to address many contentious and complex 

issues of law relating to water rights, civil and criminal jurisdiction, natural resources, wildlife management, health and welfare 

services, taxation, and Tribal-State relations. I enjoyed those years, 

and we made progress. 

My full-time work in Indian law, however, concluded in 1986 

when I decided to make a career change. I was appointed as the 

attorney for Idaho’s fourth-largest county. That county had boundaries that reached inside of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, so for 

the next four years I served as a prosecuting attorney. It was 

thereafter that I was elected as the Attorney General of Idaho and 

served a four-year term, and then for the last 14 years I have 

worked as a professor of law. 

That is a broad array of experiences that gave me management 

skills, an understanding of political process, and a knowledge of 

Federal Indian law that I think would help me to succeed in the 

broad scope of responsibilities as the Assistant Secretary for Indian 

Affairs if I am confirmed. 

I know I would face a daunting task. The challenges facing Native American people are great. It would be my approach as I have 

13 

always felt within my heart, as well as my mind, and the study of 

law has taught me, is to recognize that Native American tribes are 

nations of people entitled to a government-to-government relationship with the United Stats. 

And the United States carries a very solemn responsibility. We 

call it a trust responsibility to look after the political integrity and 

the welfare of the native nations, to safeguard their lands and resources, and to make their homelands productive. 

And I know that this Committee is well aware of the challenging 

problems faced by Native Americans and Alaska Natives throughout this Country. The ones that I would mention very briefly would 

be economic development, education, and public safety in Indian 

communities. 

As I say that, I remember the many times that I have been within Indian reservation communities. In my mind’s eye, I can see the 

faces of people, people that I love and care for that suffer the effects of poverty and the social ills that flow from poverty. 

My family has been blessed with education. I would see it as my 

responsibility to do everything that I can to see that every American Indian and Alaska Native youth receives an opportunity for a 

quality education and a good job and economic prosperity. 

And I know full well, as a former prosecutor, of the terrible problems that exist when crime is high. It affects people’s lives. We 

must do something about the violence that occurs in Indian Country, about the violence that occurs in the lives of Indian women, 

about the abuse and neglect suffered by Indian children, and substance abuse that robs the future promise of the next generation. 

I know that this is a difficult job, Chairman Dorgan and Members of this Committee, but I pledge to you to work tirelessly and 

faithfully in executing my responsibilities, and working together 

with Members of this Committee to truly make a difference in the 

lives of people in need. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement and biographical information of Mr. 

Echo Hawk follow:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF LARRY J. ECHO HAWK, NOMINEE TO BE ASSISTANT

SECRETARY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Introduction 

Chairman Dorgan, Vice-Chairman Barrasso and Members of the Committee, I am 

honored to appear before you today seeking your confirmation of my nomination by 

President Barack Obama to serve as the next Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. 

I would like to introduce members of my immediate family who are present: 

My wife: Terry. 

Five of my six children: Jenny, Paul, Mark, Matt and Emily. 

And three of my siblings: Mary Adamson, Lucille Echo Hawk, and John Echo 

Hawk. 

I am proud to say that members of my family have been committed advocates for 

Native American people for many years. 

I am a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. The Pawnee people originally 

resided in what is now the state of Nebraska, but in 1874 they were removed from 

their homeland and placed on a reservation in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. 

I have been blessed with a good education and a broad base of experience that 

I believe qualifies me to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. 

I was born in Cody, Wyoming while my father was working as a land surveyor 

in the oil and gas business. My family settled in Farmington, New Mexico and I 

14 

attended public schools there from first grade through high school. Thereafter, I attended Brigham Young University on a football scholarship. 

The Special Scholarship Program in Law for American Indians made it possible 

for me to graduate from the University of Utah, College of Law, in 1973. For 14 

years after graduating from law school I was engaged in the practice of Indian law. 

I began by working for impoverished Indian people as a lawyer for California Indian Legal Services. I then returned to Salt Lake City, Utah and built a private 

law practice centered upon representation of American Indians. In 1977 I was selected by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to be their Chief General Legal Counsel. I 

served in that position for 81⁄2 years. 

As an Indian law practitioner I learned about the challenges facing Native American communities and the complex system of laws that affect the lives of people living on Indian reservations. While serving as the senior attorney for Idaho’s largest 

Indian tribe, I was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives. As a member of 

the Idaho Legislature I seized the opportunity to address contentious and complex 

issues relating to criminal law enforcement, water rights, zoning and land use, natural resources, wildlife management, health and welfare services, education, taxation and tribal-state governmental relations. 

Although my full-time work in Indian law ended in 1986 when I was appointed 

as the Prosecuting Attorney for Bannock County, Idaho, I continued to have some 

involvement with federal Indian law up to the present time. As a Prosecuting Attorney, I addressed civil and criminal jurisdictional issues involving tribal, state and 

federal authorities. As Attorney General of Idaho, my office was required to handle 

significant matters involving Indian religious freedom, water rights, criminal law 

enforcement, gaming, environmental regulation, tribal civil and criminal jurisdiction, and treaty hunting and fishing rights. And, for the past 14 years my teaching 

load as a Professor of Law has included courses on Federal Indian Law, and my 

scholarly research and writing has centered on Indian law topics. 

This broad array of experiences has helped me develop the management skills, 

understanding of political processes, and knowledge of federal Indian law I will need 

to successfully address the broad scope of responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary 

for Indian Affairs. 

When I was asked to accept the President’s nomination to serve as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, I quickly concluded that accepting was the right thing to 

do. If confirmed, I will have an opportunity to serve my country in providing a broad 

measure of services to many Indian communities. 

Issues 

If confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, I will face a daunting task. 

The challenges facing American Indians and Alaska Natives are great. I highlight 

the following subjects as a few of the areas that will require special attention for 

the next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs: 

Economic Development 

Many Native American communities are among the poorest segments of the population in the United States. As an example, 8 out of 10 poorest counties in the 

United States are within Indian reservations. 

The rate of unemployment of Native Americans is the highest of any ethnic group 

in America. People are alarmed when unemployment rates hover around 8% for the 

general population, but within some areas of Indian Country the rate of unemployment is nearly 80%. 

The inclusion of Native Americans within the American Economic Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act is good news. It is vitally important that this economic stimulus 

be implemented quickly and effectively. 

When Indians decide to develop their mineral and energy resources on trust lands 

the Federal Government must act responsibly as trustee, but it must avoid unnecessary delay in giving required authorization. 

Gaming has brought much needed revenue to many of the 562 federally recognized tribes. Indian gaming has created approximately 670,000 jobs and provided 

$11 billion to federal and state governments. Tribal revenue from gaming has been 

an important source of funding for education, health care, law enforcement and 

other tribal services. If confirmed, I will follow the law established by the Indian 

Gaming Regulatory Act and implement its regulatory framework in a reasonable 

manner. 

Education 

American Indian and Alaska Native students score significantly lower than their 

peers in reading and math. Native youth also experience some of the highest high 

school dropout rates in the country. 

15 

The federally supported Indian education system has responsibility for educating 

48,000 students at 183 schools. There must be an improvement in test scores and 

dropout rates within this educational system. Dilapidated school buildings must be 

repaired or replaced and housing for school teachers must be improved. 

Sustained economic development and prosperity cannot be achieved without a 

well-educated workforce. Education must be improved at all levels, including higher 

education. 

Criminal Law Enforcement 

The rate of aggravated assault against American Indians and Alaska Natives is 

roughly twice that of the country as a whole. Violence against Indian women and 

abuse of Indian children continue to be major problems. Epidemic methamphetamine use is now occurring in many Indian communities. 

More criminal law enforcement officers are needed. Tribal courts need adequate 

funding. Tribal judges, prosecutors and defenders need better training. Jurisdictional gaps in the system of criminal law enforcement within Indian Country needed 

to be fixed. United States Attorneys need to be more active in prosecuting crime 

within Indian Country. 

If confirmed, I will use my extensive experience in criminal law enforcement to 

fight crime and increase public safety in Native American communities. This effort 

will include consultation with tribal leaders and coordination with state and federal 

law enforcement agencies. Additional resources must be made available for police 

officers, judges, prosecutors, defenders, probation officers, courts, detention facilities 

and training. 

Trust Reform 

The Cobell litigation has focused attention on the accountability for management 

of trust assets. The Department of the Interior must move forward in a responsible 

manner in the management of trust lands, resources, and other assets. Although I 

will not personally participate in the Cobell matter because members of my family 

have been involved in the case, I may participate in general policy matters, including trust reform, where it is appropriate and ethical to do so. 

Tribal Recognition Process 

The tribal recognition system is not working. The process of reviewing and acting 

upon applications for federal recognition is taking too much time. Applicants deserve a clear and timely procedure that will yield fair results. 

Land-Into-Trust 

The Carcieri v. Kempthorne decision by the United States Supreme Court appears 

to limit the Interior Secretary’s authority under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act 

to take lands into trust status on behalf of a Tribe that was not under federal jurisdiction when the Act was adopted. Many questions have arisen about the impact 

of this decision and about how to best resolve those questions. 

Health 

Forty-percent of health care needs of Native Americans are unmet. Many basic 

elements of good health care are lacking in Indian Country: doctors, nurses, mental 

health professionals, addiction counselors, and medical equipment and facilities. Native Americans suffer the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the world. Indian youth 

are twice as likely to commit suicide. 

The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs does not have primary responsibility for 

addressing health care needs, but services provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

and Bureau of Indian Education are indirectly connected to the provision of vital 

health care services. The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs must be mindful and 

supportive of the need to provide quality health care services. 

Bureaucratic Inefficiency 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) provide 

services to 562 of Indian tribes. This includes the administration and management 

of 55.7 million acres of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians 

and Alaska Natives. In addition to the central offices of the BIA and BIE, there are 

12 regional offices, and 85 agency and field offices. 

The BIA and BIE have been criticized for not efficiently administering their responsibilities. Attention must be given to identifying areas of delay, mismanagement 

and neglect. Action must be taken to improve the administration of trust responsibilities. There must also be assurance that trust responsibilities are administered 

in accordance with high ethical standards. 

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Other Issues 

Other issues include the need to attain water settlements, protection of Indian sacred sites and culture, and adequate housing. 

Conclusion 

If confirmed, I pledge to work cooperatively with the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in addressing important issues that affect the lives of American Indians and 

Alaska Natives. I will reach out to leaders of tribal governments and listen carefully 

to their concerns and recommendations. Furthermore, I pledge to work tirelessly 

and faithfully in executing my duties and responsibilities. I am confident that working together we can make significant progress in improving the quality of life for 

all Native Americans and honor the solemn commitments of the United States of 

America. I respectfully ask the members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to 

vote to confirm my nomination as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. 


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The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Echo Hawk, thank you very much. 

Before we begin questioning, and I will call on Senator Barrasso 

for the first questions and I will defer to the end, Senator Udall 

has come late because of another engagement, and he is a personal 

friend of Mr. Echo Hawk, and asked consent to make a statement. 

So let me call on Senator Udall. 

STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO 

Senator UDALL. Thank you very much, Chairman Dorgan. 

I was in the Chair from one to three, and I asked my cousin 

Mark, who was behind me, to come 15 minutes early so I could 

make it to your Committee. So thank you very much. 

Before I talk about why Larry Echo Hawk is so qualified for this 

position, I want to say a few quick words about how committed he 

is to this job. 

Larry is a law professor and many of you know that is a pretty 

nice job. More importantly, as a former BYU quarterback, Larry 

was named to be a faculty member who oversees the BYU Athletics 

Department. So what I am saying is rather than spending his days 

being worshiped by law students, publishing groundbreaking articles, and watching college football games from the 50-yard line, 

Larry has chosen to serve his Country in the Interior Department. 

If that is not commitment, I don’t know what is. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator UDALL. We are very lucky that Larry is so committed to 

this position because I can think of nobody who is better suited for 

it. Larry’s resume speaks for itself, but Larry is more than a very 

accomplished lawyer and public servant. He is a deep and innovative thinker. 


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Larry grew up in Farmington, New Mexico, but I first got to 

know him when we were both elected State Attorneys General in 

1990. And at the time, Larry was the first Native American to be 

elected to a statewide constitutional office anywhere in the United 

States. 

And Larry’s path-breaking did not stop there. Shortly after his 

election, he began to spread what at the time was a very new idea: 

conflicts with tribes should not be settled in court. Back then, State 

A.G.s were in court with tribes all the time. Nobody won those 

cases because the bad blood on both sides turned any outcome into 

a defeat. Larry was the first to say we can do better, and he was 

right. And I followed Larry’s advice, and as a result New Mexico’s 

relationship with our tribes was more productive for everybody involved. 

At BIA, we need somebody who can work with tribal governments and tribal members with an attitude of respect, and we need 

somebody who combines a deep knowledge of Indian issues with 

the compassion that comes from common experience and common 

culture. We need a great mind connected to a great heart. 

In short, we need Larry Echo Hawk and I hope the Members of 

this Committee will join me in supporting his nomination to this 

important post. 

Good to see you here today, Larry, and I am happy to stay here 

for the questioning. 

Thank you for your courtesies, Chairman Dorgan. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Udall, thank you very much. 

Senator Barrasso? 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM WYOMING 

Senator BARRASSO. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

And congratulations, Mr. Echo Hawk. Congratulations to your 

wonderful family. It is so good to have your wife here, the children, 

your siblings, and thank you for taking the time earlier today to 

come and visit with me. After that visit and after hearing your incredible testimony, I think that clearly you are the person for the 

job. 

I appreciate your willingness to take on these many challenges 

that face the next Assistant Secretary, because this is a job that 

is by no means one that is easy, and I think you recognize that 

completely. Whoever holds it will come to know the true meaning 

of the word challenge. 

It is a very important job, and I think that you really can bring 

the intensity and the knowledge, as well as the commitment and 

the ability to do the job well. 

Incredible responsibility. You are going to be managing 9,300 

employees within the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. The position is responsible for an extensive portfolio of activities and programs. The keys are what you just mentioned: education, housing, law enforcement, land management, economic development. These areas form the essential components of any 

healthy community, including all of the communities on reservations. 

41 

One of your articles from a few years ago recognized the interrelationship of many of these components. You observed that without certain basic components, serious risk factors can develop and 

threaten the future of Indian communities. Those risk factors include poverty, unemployment, family stresses, violence, substance 

abuse, crime, things we talked about earlier today. 

Those factors today are all far too prevalent in many Indian communities. I know you understand the situation. I know it from your 

testimony. I know it from your life history. I know it from our earlier visits. And you understand that these are not simply statistics. 

They are not academic concepts. These are the lives of people. And 

your voice actually slowed down as I think you could actually visualize and see people whose lives you now have been impacted as 

a result of all of these factors. 

So the job that you have been nominated for to me is more challenging than it has ever been before and maybe more challenging 

than anything else you have ever undertaken before. Your background in prosecution, in law enforcement, in Indian policy are 

going to serve you very well in this position. 

Your background will help you coordinate BIA law enforcement 

activities with other Federal agencies, as well as with State and 

tribal and local law enforcement. 

On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, as in many Indian 

communities, we are seeing high amounts of crime. As a surgeon, 

I have seen it directly in patients that I have operated on and you 

have seen it in your past history. We have a police force that would 

struggle to meet the needs of a community even half its size. We 

talked about that earlier today. 

Just this weekend, Fox News reported on law enforcement actions by the Navajo Nation. The efforts focus on stemming violence 

fueled by drugs, fueled by alcohol. These stories are prominent 

across the Country in Indian communities, and to you it is unacceptable and to all of us it is unacceptable. We need to do better. 

Indian communities struggle to build the components of a 

healthy life, yet they can’t depend on basic safety and basic security today. So I hope you will be able to address these needs aggressively, and not just in Wyoming, but nationwide. 

There are also the problems that we have dealt with in this community of management. If confirmed by the Senate, I suggest that 

you thoroughly examine the agency under your command. I am 

sure that most BIA employees are diligent, hard-working, and dedicated to their jobs. I know that by and large BIA employees provide 

outstanding service to Indian people. But this Committee has received more than just a few complaints about inefficiencies and 

waste within the agency. So I hope that you make this efficiency 

and accountability issue within the BIA’s integral parts. 

And I will just submit a couple of things that we have talked 

about in writing so you can further explain it. There is one specific 

issue in Wyoming, and I brought it up in the Committee in the 

past, and it has to do with the Wind River Reservation and irrigation. You may be aware that improvements to the Wind River Reservation irrigation system have been ongoing for some time. Congress actually appropriated money for the project in 2006, 2007, 

with matching funds from the State of Wyoming. 

42 

Yet the progress on the repairs has been extremely slow. And it 

is not just in Wyoming. We have heard repeated stories of this 

around the Country. Always a lot of contributing factors, but the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs is one of those contributing to the delays. 

So I have been asking the department to look into this matter 

since May of 2008, and we just got a response this week. I am told 

that these four projects are ready for implementation and if confirmed I would ask that you personally look in to this matter and 

ensure that the work will be undertaken promptly this year. 

You are shaking your head yes, and I will take that as an affirmative. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Barrasso, thank you very much for 

bringing those matters to my attention. Since I have never worked 

within the Federal Government, I don’t have first-hand knowledge 

about these sort of problems, but I have heard about those problems and I would simply commit and pledge to you and to the other 

Members of this Committee that I will do the very best that I can 

to be diligent in making sure that we do not have mismanagement 

and unnecessary delay in the important responsibilities that are 

assigned to us. 

Senator BARRASSO. And another one of those is law enforcement. 

As we have discussed, we have only two officers on patrol in Wyoming on the Wind River Reservation patrolling about two million 

acres of territory. And that is not a unique situation. 

So if confirmed, will you make adequate law enforcement staffing 

levels throughout Indian Country one of your high priorities? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Barrasso, this may be the area where 

I can offer the greatest assistance based upon my experience base 

in criminal law enforcement. I have a special interest, experience. 

I teach in that area. And from my prior comments, I think you 

know how strongly I feel about the impact of lack of law enforcement is having on the lives of people. And I would look forward to 

working with you and other Members of this Committee to seriously address the deficiencies that are occurring in our Native 

American communities when it comes to crime. 

Senator BARRASSO. And finally, we have talked a little bit about 

economic development. And the Chairman may ask additional 

questions on energy development, because there is a wealth of energy resources on Indian land, but development appears not to be 

moving for a number of different reasons. 

And if confirmed, are there things that you think you can do to 

help improve implementation of energy programs and address the 

barriers, things that are inhibiting the energy development on Indian lands? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Barrasso, I will pledge to you that I 

will do my best to make sure that the process moves forward in an 

appropriate and timely manner. I would recognize that the Department of Interior has responsibilities to meet since they are the 

trustee over lands and resources. There is an important function to 

perform, but it is intolerable to have unnecessary delay. When tribal leaders make decisions to use their resources to spark their 

economies, bring revenues and create jobs, then I think the Federal 

43 

Government has a responsibility to move forward responsibly, but 

quickly, to make those developments occur. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you, Mr. Echo Hawk. 

And thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Tester? 

STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA 

Senator TESTER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to welcome you, Larry. I appreciate the stop by my office 

you did the other day. 

I also want to welcome your family. I know that you don’t get 

to the position you are in without solid support from the people 

around you and I want to thank not only you, but your family for 

being here today and the support they have given you to get to this 

position. 

I guess we will get to the most important thing first, and I visited with you a little bit about this in my office. But I think it is 

critically important that the person in this position get out to see 

as many areas of Indian Country as possible in the United States. 

I would be more than happy to help you in that regard with a visit 

to Montana. Would you be willing to come out and see us? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Tester, I would very much like to visit 

and learn more about your State and those Native American communities there. 

Senator TESTER. I think your opening statement really described 

many, if not all, the issues that we face in Montana and for the 

most part throughout the Country. 

On a couple of issues that are more local in nature, we have the 

Cobell suit and we have recognition of the Little Shell Tribe. In 

both of those issues, for reasons you don’t have to go into, but you 

have chosen to recuse yourself, and I quite frankly appreciate that. 

But your staff or hopefully soon to be your staff has indicated they 

can’t make a decision on either one of those until you are in charge, 

or somebody is in charge in that position. 

How is it going to be handled? How is Cobell going to be handled 

if you recuse yourself and the staff says now we have to have this 

guy here, and the same thing with the Little Shell? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Tester, I have worked carefully and 

closely with ethics officers in the Department of Interior, and a 

recusal agreement has been drawn up and I have signed that, and 

I will honor the provisions of that recusal document, which means 

that there are certain cases and issues that I cannot personally be 

involved in. 

But I commit to you and to the Members of this Committee that 

if confirmed I will make sure that there is a clearly identified person, in all likelihood the Principal Deputy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, who will have responsibility to 

make decisions and move those issues forward. 

Senator TESTER. Thank you for that. I can tell you that in both, 

in both, timeliness is an issue. And I will tell you especially in the 

Little Shell. They have been at it for 31 years. They need to get 

a decision and I appreciate the fact that you will be pushing that 

forward. 

44 

Budgets, have you had an opportunity to look at the budget at 

all? And if you have, what is your opinion of it? I am talking about 

your budget, not the overall budget, the budget for your department. 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Tester, I have not had the opportunity 

to examine carefully the budget for the office, but I would commit 

to you, Senator Tester, and the other Members of this Committee 

that I will be an advocate for the needs of native communities in 

various things that we have talked about. I served during my time 

in the Idaho legislature on the Appropriations Committee. I know 

about the appropriations process. I don’t know all of the details 

about the Federal process. I know that I can be a person that advocates and recommends certain funding levels for particular matters, but I know that I will not have the final say, but I commit 

to you that I will definitely identify what the needs are and push 

for proper funding. 

Senator TESTER. Can you tell me very briefly, if you could, you 

are going to be pushing the budget out to probably Secretary Salazar, or whatever the chain of command is. Can you tell me what 

your priorities in that budget would be, just from your inner soul, 

what they would be? From what you know, what would they be? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Tester, I feel like I am just beginning 

to learn about the important responsibilities that I have to do, but 

I know what the key issues are within my heart and soul. And education of American Indian and Alaska Native youth are very, very 

important to me. Public safety in Indian communities are very important to me. Creating jobs are very important to me. 

And so those will be some of the priorities that I push for if I 

am confirmed as Assistant Secretary. There will, of course, be other 

important things that affect the lives of and the economies, particularly in the west, like water settlements, but I just wanted to mention some of the things that I know immediately will be very important. 

Senator TESTER. Okay. Well, just in closing real quick, I think 

you are a quality individual. I hope you are confirmed. I hope you 

are confirmed very, very soon, because I think this department 

needs a leader, and I think you fit those qualifications. 

You told me when you were in my office that you weren’t a bureaucrat, and I think that fits this job’s needs very, very well. 

Thank you very much for being here. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Tester, thank you very much. 

Senator Crapo? 

Senator CRAPO. I pass. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator McCain, do you have questions? 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN MCCAIN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA 

Senator MCCAIN. Welcome and thank you for all the hard work 

you have done for many years on behalf of Native Americans. It 

has been a great pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with 

you on various issues. 

One of the issues that you worked with us on is the issue of Indian gaming. It is a tough issue. It is very controversial throughout 

45 

the Country. It is one that has plagued us ever since we enacted 

the Indian Gaming Act a long time ago. 

So I have several questions for you on this issue. Do you believe 

that IGRA, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Commission, has sufficient authority to do its job? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator McCain, in the process of teaching 

Federal Indian law, one of the chapters that we cover is on Indian 

gaming. I feel fairly comfortable that I know the very basics of 

what that law, regulatory system is. When the United States Supreme Court back in the mid-1980s decided the Cabazon case that 

opened up this area to Indian tribes, and of course to Congress 

very soon after, I believe it was in 1988, passed the statutory law. 

I welcomed that. I thought that the Congress got it about right 

in a very difficult situation. That, of course, has jumped forward far 

from that point. I do not feel like I know presently all of the details 

about how Indian gaming operates. I understand I will have some 

responsibilities in that area, but I look forward to working with you 

and other concerned Senators to get up to speed, to learn what I 

have to, and make sure that it is properly regulated. 

Senator MCCAIN. I have to say with respect that is not a very 

good answer, sir. You should know that this is a huge issue. You 

have been involved in Native American issues for many, many 

years. That is why you are being nominated for this position. 

Now, there was a decision concerning the Colorado River Indian 

tribes which basically dramatically reduced the authority of the Indian Regulatory Gaming Commission. That is why I asked you this 

question. I will expect some answers before I vote for your confirmation. 

I have to deal with this issue regularly, regularly, as we see for 

example Native American tribes going into an area that is off-reservation and purchase that land in order to use it for purposes of 

Indian gaming. This happens all the time. It happens in Arizona. 

It happens all over the Country. 

Now, I am sure you must be aware of that situation. Are you? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator McCain, the particular situation that 

you mention, I am not aware of. 

Senator MCCAIN. You are not familiar that this is going on in 

America? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. I am of course aware of Indian gaming laws, 

as I said in my initial response. It is a part of what I teach, but 

it is something that we cover in one day. I am not a gaming attorney. I have not been able to penetrate all of the details of Indian 

gaming law. 

I have had some experience when I served as Attorney General 

as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was just starting to get 

going. And frankly, found myself in a very difficult situation as a 

State Attorney General in representing the State and being on the 

other side of the table from American Indian tribes in my own 

State. 

So I know the contentious nature of it, of the issue. And I executed my duty as the State Attorney General. It was very difficult 

for me personally, but I did my duty. 

Senator MCCAIN. Well, I say again with respect, sir, teaching Indian law certainly makes one aware that the Cabazon decision was 

46 

one of the landmark decisions regarding Indian Country in a long 

time. The repercussions of that was the Indian Gaming Act, IGRA, 

the appointment of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Commission. 

The Colorado River decision, all of those are Indian law, which I 

take it that you taught. These have had a huge impact on revenues 

to tribes, revenue-sharing agreements between Governors. 

So it is going to be a very important issue for you to address. 

And frankly, your answer to me that you know about these things 

is not sufficient and I hope that you will certainly go back and look 

at the Indian law that has been effected and its effect on Indian 

gaming, and come back and give me some answers, because that 

issue will be before this Committee. It will be before the Congress 

of the United States, so it is very important to me. So I hope you 

will take that seriously. 

And along with that question that I have for you, do you believe 

that Class III Indian gaming should be, that there is a need to better regulate Class III Indian gaming? 

I guess I would be very interested in your views about Indian 

Health Service achieving much more ability to self-govern. The 

Chairman and I and others have tried to get through legislation to 

give the tribes much more authority over their own health services. 

Do you have a view on that issue? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator McCain, of course, I feel like there are 

great needs in the area of Indian health care. And I certainly respect the sovereign authority of Indian tribes. I do not consider myself to be an expert in the management and delivery of health services. 

I know that that primary responsibility is in the Indian Health 

Service. We would be indirectly involved, both in the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education, but the bottom line 

for me would be that the important thing is to improve health care 

in Indian communities. And if there is a better way of accomplishing that, I would be all for that. 

I am not immersed in the issue well enough to be able to say 

what that pathway is. I have an open mind. I don’t think it is going 

to be my decision about that, but perhaps I would be involved in 

some discussions in that direction. 

Senator MCCAIN. Thank you very much. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Udall? 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Chairman Dorgan. 

General Echo Hawk, as you are no doubt aware, Secretary Salazar has recently created a Youth Office in the Department of Interior, and I applaud that effort. His goal is to have a large number 

of youth serving on public lands. Representative Grijalva of Arizona has introduced H.R. 1612 in the House to help accomplish 

that goal by enrolling youth in service and youth in service in conservation corps so that programs can help young people benefit 

from that experience. 

And I want to work with you to make sure that Native American 

youth benefit from these initiatives. So what I propose is that Native American young people work on native lands on projects that 

their tribes and communities determine to be important and set as 

47 

their priorities. This is native communities, native youth setting 

priorities on their land. 

And we have put in a proposal. We are working with Representative Grijalva on that, and I am wondering will you and the Secretary work with me to ensure that Native Americans have opportunities to work and serve in their own tribes and communities on 

their prioritized projects, as well as to work on public lands and the 

Federal agencies? 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Udall, I commend you for your interest 

and efforts in that regard. I have just heard bits and pieces about 

these plans. I would commit to you to work with you and learn 

more about that and hopefully be as supportive as I can for the efforts. But I am not familiar with the details of those efforts at this 

time. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, General Echo Hawk. 

When Senator Tester asked you the question, what are the priorities, one of those you mentioned was education. And the Bureau 

of Indian Affairs, as you are no doubt aware, runs one of the biggest school systems in the Country. I believe 50,000 students. So 

you have the opportunity in your position to impact education in 

a dramatic way for native youngsters. 

And I hope that one of your top priorities is focusing on how that 

education is delivered in Indian Country because we have 22 tribes 

in New Mexico. We have many of these BIA schools. I frequently 

run into parents, to those that are involved with the schools. And 

they say the reform we are seeing across the education system 

needs to also happen at BIA. 

And I think there is a real opportunity for you to participate in 

that. And this 50,000-person school system is there. It is operating. 

It has the ability to deliver quality education for these young people and to do better and better every day. 

I think one of the things we are trying to now do with education 

is build in the idea that we are going to improve every day. That 

we are going to use a model that says that all of the folks that are 

involved with education, be it a teacher or a principal or an administrator, any type of school employee, that we get up and we do a 

better job for our kids every day. 

So I am really not asking in a way for an answer here, but I 

think that that is just so important and it could set an example 

across Indian Country I think of where we need to go on the education front. 

One other question that I would like to throw at you is, as you 

know, there is a huge backlog on construction throughout the Department of Interior on tribal programs. Whether it is in school 

construction or road construction or some of the other areas, I 

think the backlogs are so big. We are talking billions of dollars of 

backlog at the Department of Interior in these areas. 

One of the things that we could do that would really, I think, 

make a difference is come up with a plan to wipe out those backlogs. We are not going to be able to do it in a year or two years. 

I am reminded of what Secretary Babbitt did when he traveled 

across the Country and learned about the backlogs, and I think he 

came up with a four-year plan. He laid it out in that four-year 

plan. He said we are going to wipe out these backlogs. We are 

48 

going to get up to date, and we are going to commit ourselves to 

that. 

So I hope that one of the things you do when you get in there 

is take stock of where you are, because I think you are going to 

run into many folks coming to you and saying, we have a problem 

here, a problem there. And you analyze all these and realize that 

there are these big backlogs out there. And there needs to be from 

your level and the Secretary’s level and the presidential level of 

saying, as we have heard before in this Committee, and I think the 

Chairman has called several hearings to highlight this, we almost 

need a Marshall Plan for dealing with these issues in Indian Country. 

So it is kind of a big amorphous question, but anyway go ahead 

please. 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Senator Udall, thank you for pointing this out 

and I appreciate your concern. I have heard something about this, 

but of course having not worked in the department previously, I 

am not fully aware of this. But I would pledge to you that I will 

find out and see what I can do to make sure that we address any 

backlog problems. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you very much. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Udall, thank you very much. 

Mr. Echo Hawk, let me make a couple of comments, and then 

you may respond if you wish. 

The priorities are quite clear. Law enforcement, we have talked 

about that. I think you are going to bring a lot to this job as we 

work to try to deal with law enforcement. Your background brings 

an enormous amount, perhaps more than any we have ever seen 

of someone who comes into this job on the law enforcement side. 

So I appreciate that. 

Health care, that is Indian Health Service, but you will have 

some coordination there. Education, housing, all of those are very 

important, and then the issue, as you described, economic development, trying to find ways to provide jobs because there is no social 

program as important as a good job that pays well. That makes almost everything else possible in terms of caring for your family and 

meeting the daily needs and so on. 

So I think that you will bring a lot to this. It is understandable 

that when you show up at this table, not having sat in the Interior 

Department as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, that you 

don’t know all of the nuances of all of the issues, but you will, and 

that will your responsibility. 

I want to talk to you just for a moment about the issue of gaming, because you can tell the former Chairman of this Committee, 

Senator McCain, feels very strongly, as do others. The Cabazon decision opened up opportunities for Indian gaming. My guess is that 

most tribes, having the opportunity to provide gaming and provide 

revenue for their tribal members from gaming, would very much 

like to put a casino in downtown Manhattan, somewhere near 

Times Square, right? If they had the opportunity? You want to do 

gaming where there is a stream of people with some income that 

is going to maximize the potential of gaming. 

49 

But I don’t look favorably on what is called off-reservation gaming, where tribes generally shop for somewhere closer to a metropolitan area to put a casino in. I personally am not very accommodating to that. Off-reservation gaming, if given a green light, every 

tribe in the Country would love to do that, find a place near a big 

city and put the casino up. 

So Senator McCain’s concern about those things matches concerns of others of us as well with respect to the issue of land into 

trust for gaming purposes, et cetera. This is about a $26 billion industry and growing, Indian gaming. It is very important for the capability to continue that that there be effective regulation. 

We have a lot of history with respect to regulatory difficulties 

with gaming. I am not talking about on Indian reservations. I am 

just talking about the areas and spots in this Country where for 

decades there have been gaming interests that wish to find ways 

to engage themselves in gaming in a rather untoward way. 

So there are issues that relate to the National Indian Gaming 

Commission. It relates to IGRA the underlying law. It relates to 

the Colorado River decision in which they said the National Indian 

Gaming Commission cannot take a look at and regulate Class III 

gaming. And that being the case, there are some circumstances in 

this Country where the only regulatory authority that exists of any 

means is the tribal authority itself because there are some States 

who, although they claim because of their compact, have regulatory 

capability, probably have a part-time person or one or one and a 

half part-time people. That is not effective regulation. 

So the National Indian Gaming Commission raises important 

questions, and we have had many hearings on them when Senator 

McCain was Chairman. And but for time issues, we would have 

had hearings on them in the last Congress, but I decided to try to 

use all of our resources to get an Indian Health Care Improvement 

Act out of the United States Senate. We did for the first time in 

17 years in the United States Senate get a bill out of here, and regrettably one of our colleagues stuck an abortion amendment on it, 

which meant that it was killed in the U.S. House. 

But the only point of my saying this to you is the points that 

Senator McCain raised are not irrelevant points at all, and not just 

harbored by himself. I mean, there are issues here with respect to 

Indian gaming that this Committee will explore and we will need 

to explore it with your capability of studying it, understanding it, 

and giving us some guidance, and working with us and the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

And so I just wanted to make that point because the former 

Chairman I know feels strongly about it, but he is not alone. There 

are many of us. We very much want Indian gaming to be successful, and it certainly is. It has increased the revenue. Increased opportunities for many Indian tribes to provide a stream of income 

for their members, and that is important. 

But like every other area of endeavor, there needs to be effective 

regulatory capability. Some tribes have extraordinary regulatory 

regimes, and I am enormously impressed. Some not quite so impressive. And some States have really good regulatory capabilities 

and hire a lot of people to do it. Some States not so much. So this 

Committee will always continue to be interested in that. 

50 

But having said that, you will likely get questions from Senator 

McCain and I am going to send you some additional questions as 

well. You will want to answer those questions as quickly as you 

can. And we don’t expect you to know all of the nuances of all of 

these issues because they have been around for a long time. But 

my hope is you will answer those questions as completely as you 

can, get them back to us as quickly as you can, and it is my intention to try very hard to move this nomination with speed. 

I would like very much for this Committee to approve your nomination at our business meeting next Thursday. My hope would be 

that very shortly thereafter, perhaps by the end of next week following this Committee action, that we could get unanimous consent 

for your nomination through the United States Senate. 

Again, with four of the last eight years having no one running 

the BIA who has been appointed or nominated by a president and 

confirmed by a Congress, I think it is disgraceful, four of eight 

years. I mean, we have 500 Indian tribes in this Country and we 

have made all kinds of commitments and promises and agreements 

and have all these trust responsibilities, and the fact is nobody 

seems to care very much whether any of them are kept. 

We need a BIA that works. We need someone that is there to run 

it, that we can be proud of their work. And I think you are the person, Mr. Echo Hawk. I have that kind of confidence. I know my colleague from New Mexico and colleagues from Idaho and Utah and 

Wyoming and others do as well. 

So I look forward to working with you, and I believe that you will 

be confirmed and I intend to work with all of my colleagues to try 

to make that happen as soon as possible. 

Let me ask if you have any concluding statements. 

Mr. ECHO HAWK. Mr. Chairman, I just appreciate the opportunity to appear before this Committee, and would hope that I 

would be confirmed soon to take on these important responsibilities. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. And finally, let me say thanks for bringing your 

family. I suspect they are justifiably proud of their husband and father and sibling, and all of us wish you well. 

This hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 3:20 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

(51) 

A P P E N D I X 


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