Title: A resolution recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United States.
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
This resolution celebrates the successes of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women and the contributions they have made in the United States. The resolution also recognizes the importance of supporting equity, providing safety, and upholding the interests of these women.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 125 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 125

   Recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of American 
 Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 18, 2021

 Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Bennet, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Daines, Ms. 
Duckworth, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly, 
   Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Moran, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
Merkley, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schumer, 
 Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Smith, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. 
Tester, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of American 
 Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United States.

Whereas the United States celebrates National Women's History Month every March 
        to recognize and honor the achievements of women throughout the history 
        of the United States;
Whereas an estimated 3,081,000 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native 
        Hawaiian women live in the United States;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women helped shape 
        the history of their communities, Tribes, and the United States;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women contribute to 
        their communities, Tribes, and the United States through military 
        service, public service, and work in many industries, including 
        business, education, science, medicine, literature, and fine arts;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have fought to 
        defend and protect the sovereign rights of Native Nations;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have 
        demonstrated resilience and courage in the face of a history of 
        threatened existence, constant removals, and relocations;
Whereas more than 6,000 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
        women bravely serve as members of the United States Armed Forces;
Whereas more than 17,000 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
        women are veterans who have made lasting contributions to the United 
        States military;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women broke down 
        historical gender barriers to enlistment in the military, including--

    (1) Inupiat Eskimo sharpshooter Laura Beltz Wright of the Alaska 
Territorial Guard during World War II; and

    (2) Minnie Spotted Wolf of the Blackfeet Tribe, the first Native 
American woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps in 1943;

Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have made the 
        ultimate sacrifice for the United States, including Lori Ann Piestewa, a 
        member of the Hopi Tribe and the first woman in the United States 
        military killed in the Iraq War in 2003;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have 
        contributed to the economic development of Native Nations and the United 
        States as a whole, including Elouise Cobell of the Blackfeet Tribe, a 
        recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, who--

    (1) served as the treasurer of her Tribe;

    (2) founded the first Tribally owned national bank; and

    (3) led the fight against Federal mismanagement of funds held in trust 
for more than 500,000 Native Americans;

Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women own an 
        estimated 154,900 businesses;
Whereas these Native women-owned businesses employ more than 50,000 workers and 
        generate over $10,000,000,000 in revenues as of 2016;
Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native women have opened an average of more 
        than 17 new businesses each day since 2007;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have made 
        significant contributions to the field of medicine, including Susan La 
        Flesche Picotte of the Omaha Tribe, who is widely acknowledged as the 
        first Native American to earn a medical degree;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have 
        contributed to important scientific advancements, including--

    (1) Floy Agnes Lee of Santa Clara Pueblo, who--

    G    (A) worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II; and

    G    (B) pioneered research on radiation biology and cancer;

    (2) Native Hawaiian Isabella Kauakea Yau Yung Aiona Abbott, who--

    G    (A) was the first woman on the biological sciences faculty at 
Stanford University; and

    G    (B) was awarded the highest award in marine botany from the 
National Academy of Sciences, the Gilbert Morgan Smith medal, in 1997; and

    (3) Mary Golda Ross of the Cherokee Nation, who--

    G    (A) is considered the first Native American engineer of the 
National Aeronautic and Space Administration;

    G    (B) helped develop spacecrafts for the Gemini and Apollo space 
programs; and

    G    (C) was recognized by the Federal Government on the 2019 $1 coin 
honoring Native Americans and their contributions;

Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have achieved 
        distinctive honors in the art of dance, including Maria Tall Chief of 
        the Osage Nation, who was the first major prima ballerina of the United 
        States and was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the 
        Kennedy Center;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have 
        accomplished notable literary achievements, including Northern Paiute 
        author Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, who wrote and published one of the 
        first Native American autobiographies in United States history in 1883;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have regularly 
        led efforts to protect their traditional ways of life and to revitalize 
        and maintain Native cultures and languages, including--

    (1) Tewa linguist and teacher Esther Martinez, who developed a Tewa 
dictionary and was credited with revitalizing the Tewa language;

    (2) Native Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui, who published more than 
50 academic works and was considered the most noted Hawaiian translator of 
the 20th century; and

    (3) Ahtna Athabascan Katie John of Mentasta Lake, who was the lead 
plaintiff in lawsuits that strengthened Native subsistence fishing rights 
in Alaska and who helped create the alphabet for the Ahtna language;

Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have excelled 
        in athletic competition and created opportunities for other female 
        athletes within their sport, including Rell Kapoliokaehukai Sunn, who--

    (1) ranked as longboard surfing champion of the world; and

    (2) co-founded the Women's Professional Surfing Association in 1975, 
the first professional surfing tour for women;

Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have played a 
        vital role in advancing civil rights, protecting human rights, 
        advocating for land rights, and safeguarding the environment, 
        including--

    (1) Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich of the Tlingit Nation, who--

    G    (A) helped secure the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 
1945 of the Alaska Territory, the first anti-discrimination law in the 
United States; and

    G    (B) was recognized by the Federal Government on the 2020 $1 coin 
honoring Native Americans and their contributions;

    (2) Zitkala-Sa, a Yankton Dakota writer and advocate, whose work during 
the early 20th century helped advance the citizenship, voting, and land 
rights of Native Americans; and

    (3) Mary Jane Fate of the Koyukon Athabascan village of Rampart, who 
was the first woman to chair the Alaska Federation of Natives, a founding 
member of the North American Indian Women's Association, and an advocate 
for settlement of Indigenous land claims in Alaska;

Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have succeeded 
        as judges, attorneys, and legal advocates, including Eliza ``Lyda'' 
        Conley, a Wyandot-American lawyer and the first Native woman admitted to 
        argue a case before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1909;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have paved the 
        way for women in the law, including Native Hawaiian Emma Kailikapiolono 
        Metcalf Beckley Nakuina, who served as the first female judge in Hawaii;
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women are dedicated 
        public servants, holding important positions in the Federal judicial 
        branch, the Federal executive branch, State governments, and local 
        governments;
Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native women have served as remarkable Tribal 
        councilwomen, Tribal court judges, and Tribal leaders, including Wilma 
        Mankiller, who--

    (1) was the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the 
Cherokee Nation; and

    (2) fought for Tribal self-determination and the improvement of the 
community infrastructure of her Tribe;

Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women have also led 
        their People through notable acts of public service, including--

    (1) Kaahumanu, who was the first Native Hawaiian woman to serve as 
regent of the Kingdom of Hawaii; and

    (2) Polly Cooper of the Oneida Indian Nation, who--

    G    (A) walked from central New York to Valley Forge as part of a 
relief mission to provide food for the army led by General George 
Washington during the American Revolutionary War; and

    G    (B) was recognized for her courage and generosity by Martha 
Washington;

Whereas the United States should continue to invest in the future of American 
        Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women to address the barriers 
        they face, including access to justice, health care, and opportunities 
        for educational and economic advancement; and
Whereas American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women are the life 
        givers, the culture bearers, and the caretakers of Native peoples who 
        have made precious contributions, enriching the lives of all people of 
        the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) celebrates and honors the successes of American Indian, 
        Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women and the contributions 
        they have made and continue to make to the United States; and
            (2) recognizes the importance of supporting equity, 
        providing safety, and upholding the interests of American 
        Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women.
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