Santa Fe, N.M. — Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, issued the following statement honoring indigenous communities across New Mexico and the United States: 

“Today, we celebrate the resilience, culture, and history of Native Americans across Indian Country. New Mexico’s 23 Tribes have helped build the foundations of our state while tirelessly working to defend their land, cultures, traditions and way of life. The contributions of Native Americans to our state and our nation are innumerable and everlasting. 

“I am proud of the many strides forward we continue to make toward fulfilling the United States’ trust and treaty responsibilities and lifting up Native voices. And I have the honor of serving alongside Representative Deb Haaland, one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress. But our work must continue to grow Native representation at all levels of government, and to ensure that Native voices are heard and consulted in the decisions that affect Tribes so deeply. We must reckon with the legacy of our history, and we must recognize the sovereignty of Tribes and their right to determine their future. 

“As vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, I have worked closely with Native leaders as well as with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to strengthen our government-to-government relationship and achieve important steps forward in Native American access to clean water, economic opportunity, health care, and housing.  I look forward to building on our work, including advancing efforts to end the crisis of violence against Native women, protect Chaco Canyon and other Native lands for future generations, and expand opportunity and economic security in Indian Country. I will always be a partner for Native communities and will always fight to ensure our government lives up to our obligations to Tribes.”