III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 867 

Relating to the death of the Alan R. Parker, former Staff Director and 

Chief Counsel of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 8, 2022 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Relating to the death of the Alan R. Parker, former Staff 

Director and Chief Counsel of the Committee on Indian 

Affairs of the Senate. 

Whereas Alan R. Parker was born on the Standing Rock 

Sioux Reservation in Fort Yates, North Dakota; 

Whereas Alan R. Parker was a proud citizen of the Chippewa 

Cree Nation; 

Whereas Alan R. Parker grew up on the Rocky Boy Indian 

Reservation in Montana, and considered the Rocky Boy 

Indian Reservation as his home; 

Whereas Alan R. Parker was drafted into the United States 

Army in 1965, achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in 

the United States Army Signal Corps, deployed to VietVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Dec 09, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR867.ATS SR867

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•SRES 867 ATS 

nam in 1967, and was awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious service under combat conditions; 

Whereas, in 1972, Alan R. Parker graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and 

worked for the Office of the Solicitor of the Department 

of the Interior in Washington, D.C.; 

Whereas, in 1974, Alan R. Parker joined the Indian Law 

Center at the University of New Mexico as a staff attorney; 

Whereas, in 1975, Alan R. Parker was appointed to the Tribal Government Task Force of the American Indian Policy 

Review Commission; 

Whereas, in 1977, Alan R. Parker was appointed by Senator 

James Abourezk as the first Native American Chief 

Counsel of the newly established Temporary Select Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate; 

Whereas Alan R. Parker served as the President of the 

American Indian National Bank during the period of 

1982 to 1987; 

Whereas, in 1987, Alan R. Parker was appointed by Senator 

Daniel K. Inouye to serve as Staff Director of the permanent Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate; 

Whereas Alan R. Parker worked to secure passage of the— 

(1) Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

1901 et seq.); 

(2) Public Law 95–341 (commonly known as the 

‘‘American Indian Religious Freedom Act’’) (42 U.S.C. 

1996); 

(3) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 

et seq.); 


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(4) Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); 

(5) Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 

5361 et seq.); and 

(6) numerous Tribal land and water claims settlement Acts; 

Whereas, in 1991, Alan R. Parker established the National 

Indian Policy Center at George Washington University; 

Whereas, in 1997, Alan R. Parker joined the faculty of the 

Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and established the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute, the first graduate program in Tribal governance; 

Whereas, in 2007, Alan R. Parker was appointed as the cochair of the National Congress of American Indians’ Special Committee on Indigenous Nation Relations and coordinated treaty negotiations to establish the United 

League of Indigenous Nations; 

Whereas, in 2014, Alan R. Parker served as an adjunct faculty member at the Maori Indigenous University, Te 

Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi in New Zealand and focused on the advancement of Indigenous Nations across 

the Western World; 

Whereas Alan R. Parker authored ‘‘Pathways to Indigenous 

Nation Sovereignty in the 21st Century’’ and ‘‘American 

Indian Identity: Citizenship, Membership and Blood’’ 

with Jessie Young and Se-ah-dom Edmo; 

Whereas Alan R. Parker was— 

(1) a loving husband to his wife of 53 years, Sharon 

Parker; 

(2) a loving father to his children Christina Parker 

and James Alan Parker; and 


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(3) a loving grandfather to his grandchildren, 

Shahndiin Parker, Siale Edmo Parker, Imasees Alan 

‘‘Little Bear’’ Parker, and Miyosiwin Elizabeth Parker; 

Whereas Alan R. Parker is survived by 4 sisters, 1 brother, 

and many beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews; and 

Whereas Alan R. Parker was a life-long advocate for Native 

communities and contributed to the design and development of some of the most important laws affirming Tribal sovereignty and the Federal trust responsibility of the 

United States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow 

3 and deep regret the announcement of the death of 

4 Alan R. Parker, former Staff Director and Chief 

5 Counsel of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 

6 Senate; and 

7 (2) the Senate respectfully requests that the 

8 Secretary of the Senate— 

9 (A) communicate this resolution to the 

10 House of Representatives; and 

11 (B) transmit an enrolled copy of this reso12 lution to the family of Alan R. Parker. 

Æ 


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