WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.379 Welcome to the deep dive. If you've ever if you've 00:00:03.379 --> 00:00:05.620 ever wanted to know how Washington actually works 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:07.820 behind the scenes, you are in the exact right 00:00:07.820 --> 00:00:09.839 place today. You really are. It is a completely 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:11.859 different world back there. Yeah, it is. And 00:00:11.859 --> 00:00:13.480 we know you're out there listening. You, the 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:16.120 learner, you want the real story about how power 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:18.519 is organized, but you definitely don't want to 00:00:18.519 --> 00:00:21.960 be put to sleep by endless procedural rule books 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:26.579 or. Just a swamp of legislative jargon. No one 00:00:26.579 --> 00:00:29.320 wants that. Right. You want the mechanics, the 00:00:29.320 --> 00:00:32.399 friction, the actual history delivered in a way 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:34.259 that respects your time. It's a great space to 00:00:34.259 --> 00:00:36.320 be in because the real mechanics of government 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:38.420 are rarely what they teach you in high school 00:00:38.420 --> 00:00:40.299 civics. I mean, there's this whole hidden architecture 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:43.179 that dictates what actually gets done on a daily 00:00:43.179 --> 00:00:46.679 basis. Exactly. And today our mission is to explore 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:49.439 a truly brilliant example of that hidden architecture. 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:52.039 We are digging into the history, the evolution 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:55.100 and the current. of a very unique entity in the 00:00:55.100 --> 00:00:57.280 American government, the United States Senate 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:00.340 Committee on Indian Affairs. And to set the stage 00:01:00.340 --> 00:01:02.759 properly for you, we really need to look at the 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.739 core mandate of this committee. It handles matters 00:01:05.739 --> 00:01:08.299 related to American Indian, Native Hawaiian, 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:11.500 and Alaskan Native peoples. Which is a huge umbrella. 00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:14.530 It is. And I cannot stress enough what a massive 00:01:14.530 --> 00:01:16.569 deal it is to have a dedicated committee for 00:01:16.569 --> 00:01:19.430 these specific populations in the grand scheme 00:01:19.430 --> 00:01:21.810 of American governance. We are talking about 00:01:21.810 --> 00:01:23.989 sovereign nations here. Right, sovereign nations. 00:01:24.310 --> 00:01:27.170 Distinct indigenous populations that have a very 00:01:27.170 --> 00:01:30.109 unique constitutional and historical relationship 00:01:30.109 --> 00:01:33.230 with the federal government. Having a centralized 00:01:33.230 --> 00:01:36.969 legislative body to address those complex nation 00:01:36.969 --> 00:01:40.049 to nation relationships is absolutely crucial. 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:42.609 OK, let's unpack this, because starting with 00:01:42.609 --> 00:01:45.530 what this committee actually does today on paper, 00:01:45.650 --> 00:01:47.269 it sounds like just another administrative branch, 00:01:47.409 --> 00:01:49.769 but it is so much more than so much more. The 00:01:49.769 --> 00:01:52.430 specific jurisdictions are staggering. I mean, 00:01:52.430 --> 00:01:54.569 they handle native education, economic development, 00:01:54.810 --> 00:01:57.269 land management, health care and claims against 00:01:57.269 --> 00:01:59.370 the United States. Plus, they manage something 00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:02.799 called trust responsibility. Yeah. Trust responsibilities. 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:05.599 Yes. Trust responsibilities. But before we go 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:07.819 any further, what does that actually mean in 00:02:07.819 --> 00:02:10.939 practice? When we say the government has trust 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:13.719 responsibilities over native lands, what exactly 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:16.979 are we talking about? That is the pivotal concept 00:02:16.979 --> 00:02:19.610 here. Trust responsibility is essentially the 00:02:19.610 --> 00:02:22.189 federal government's legal and moral obligation 00:02:22.189 --> 00:02:26.050 to protect tribal treaty rights, their lands, 00:02:26.270 --> 00:02:30.669 assets, and resources. When tribes ceded millions 00:02:30.669 --> 00:02:33.689 of acres of land to the United States, it wasn't 00:02:33.689 --> 00:02:36.490 just a basic real estate transaction. It was 00:02:36.490 --> 00:02:38.509 done through treaties where the federal government 00:02:38.509 --> 00:02:40.949 promised in return to protect the tribe's right 00:02:40.949 --> 00:02:43.270 to self -government. So it's an ongoing legal 00:02:43.270 --> 00:02:45.610 promise. Exactly. A promise to provide certain 00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:47.419 basic services like health care. care and education. 00:02:47.740 --> 00:02:50.020 The Committee on Indian Affairs is essentially 00:02:50.020 --> 00:02:52.280 the legislative watchdog meant to ensure the 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:54.639 United States is actually keeping those centuries 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:57.939 -old promises. So if any senator proposes a piece 00:02:57.939 --> 00:03:00.500 of legislation that specifically pertains to 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:03.719 American Indians, Native Hawaiians, or Alaska 00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:06.199 Natives, it falls right under their umbrella. 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:08.639 What's fascinating here is the sheer breadth 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:11.180 of that jurisdiction. If you think about it, 00:03:11.219 --> 00:03:13.500 most Senate committees are strictly specialized. 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:15.379 Right, like you have an Agriculture Committee. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:16.800 Or a Finance Committee. Committee or Veterans 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.080 Affairs. They focus on one slice of American 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:22.280 life. But this single committee essentially acts 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:24.939 as a mini government. A mini government. I like 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:27.379 that. It covers economics. It covers health care. 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:29.900 It covers massive tracts of real estate and land 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:32.740 management. And it handles complex legal claims. 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:36.120 It's a horizontal slice across all areas of life 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:39.280 tailored to sovereign native peoples rather than 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:42.560 a vertical slice of one specific industry. That 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:44.979 is a wild amount of power for one committee. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.599 I mean, to handle a portfolio that covers everything 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:50.960 from building hospitals to managing forests, 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:54.180 you need a very specific team. You really do. 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:57.139 Looking at the current roster for the 119th Congress, 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.599 there are 11 members in total, six Republicans 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:02.740 who hold the majority and five Democrats in the 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:05.240 minority. And the leadership consists of Chair 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:08.360 Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, and 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:10.979 Vice Chair Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii. 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:13.939 And if you look closely at that roster, a very 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:16.680 deliberate geographic pattern emerges. It isn't 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:18.740 just a random assortment of senators pulled from 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:22.019 a hat. No, it is highly specific. The committee 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:24.639 tends to be heavily dominated by senators from 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:28.579 Western and Plains states. Alaska, Hawaii, North 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:32.339 Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, New 00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:35.040 Mexico, Washington, Nevada. Notice anyone missing? 00:04:35.449 --> 00:04:37.529 Right. Why is that? Why don't we see a bunch 00:04:37.529 --> 00:04:40.649 of senators from New York or Massachusetts clamoring 00:04:40.649 --> 00:04:43.350 to get on this committee? It comes down to constituency 00:04:43.350 --> 00:04:46.870 overlap. These Western and Plains states have 00:04:46.870 --> 00:04:49.550 significantly higher Native American populations 00:04:49.550 --> 00:04:53.629 and massive swaths of tribal lands right within 00:04:53.629 --> 00:04:55.889 their borders. Oh, that makes total sense. Regional 00:04:55.889 --> 00:04:58.430 geography essentially dictates national legislative 00:04:58.430 --> 00:05:01.250 power in this instance. The senators who sit 00:05:01.250 --> 00:05:03.389 on this committee are the ones whose home states 00:05:03.389 --> 00:05:06.269 are directly and heavily impacted by the policies 00:05:06.269 --> 00:05:08.230 they draft. Which is exactly how you'd want it 00:05:08.230 --> 00:05:09.949 to work. You want the people whose constituents 00:05:09.949 --> 00:05:12.199 are dealing with these issues. day to day to 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:14.920 be the ones holding the pen. Precisely. The lived 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:17.540 realities of their voters are deeply intertwined 00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:19.560 with the jurisdiction of this committee. But 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:22.480 as logical as that setup sounds today, it hasn't 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:25.019 always been this streamlined. In fact, a whole 00:05:25.019 --> 00:05:27.579 century of history was basically erased at one 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:30.399 point. Yes, erased is the right word. The original 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:32.720 committee had a massive established run from 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:37.180 1820 all the way until 1946. That is over 100 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:39.920 years of dedicated infrastructure. A very long 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:43.439 institutional memory. But 1946 brought a massive 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:46.459 disruption. Right. In 1946, Congress passed the 00:05:46.459 --> 00:05:48.720 Legislative Reorganization Act, which completely 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:51.160 abolished both the House and Senate committees 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:54.399 on Indian affairs. Just gone. Gone. They took 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:56.500 all of those vital native affairs we just talked 00:05:56.500 --> 00:05:58.620 about, education, health care, treaty rights, 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.079 and folded them into mere subcommittees of the 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:03.660 Interior and Insular Affairs Committees. Which 00:06:03.660 --> 00:06:05.800 fundamentally degrades the level of attention, 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:08.699 authority, and funding given to these issues. 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:10.660 I mean, a subcommittee simply does not have the 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:14.709 same. Here's where it gets really interesting. 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:17.370 And by interesting, I mean incredibly dark. This 00:06:17.370 --> 00:06:19.629 demotion to a subcommittee wasn't just a random 00:06:19.629 --> 00:06:21.889 piece of bureaucratic housecleaning. No, it was 00:06:21.889 --> 00:06:25.089 not. It coincided with a 20 -year hiatus in Native 00:06:25.089 --> 00:06:28.509 affairs known as the Termination Era. So what 00:06:28.509 --> 00:06:30.709 exactly was the Termination Era? Did the government 00:06:30.709 --> 00:06:33.410 just decide to stop talking to tribes? It was 00:06:33.410 --> 00:06:35.750 far more aggressive than that. The termination 00:06:35.750 --> 00:06:38.410 era was a period where the prevailing explicit 00:06:38.410 --> 00:06:41.329 policy of the United States government was to 00:06:41.329 --> 00:06:44.430 outright terminate the federal relationship with 00:06:44.430 --> 00:06:47.629 Native tribes. Terminate it completely. Yes. 00:06:47.790 --> 00:06:52.509 The goal was rapid forced assimilation. The government 00:06:52.509 --> 00:06:55.129 sought to dismantle tribal sovereignty entirely 00:06:55.129 --> 00:06:57.889 and the federal trust responsibilities we talked 00:06:57.889 --> 00:07:00.350 about earlier and transfer jurisdiction over 00:07:00.350 --> 00:07:02.870 tribal lands and peoples directly to the states. 00:07:03.290 --> 00:07:05.449 So they basically said, we're voiding the treaties. 00:07:05.629 --> 00:07:07.850 You're on your own. Figure it out with the state 00:07:07.850 --> 00:07:10.250 government. Effectively, yes. It was a profound 00:07:10.250 --> 00:07:13.110 and devastating shift. If we connect the dots 00:07:13.110 --> 00:07:15.629 here, you can see how dangerous a shift from 00:07:15.629 --> 00:07:18.269 a dedicated Senate committee to a policy of termination 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:20.449 truly was. Because there's no one to fight for 00:07:20.449 --> 00:07:23.170 them in Washington. Exactly. You take sovereign 00:07:23.170 --> 00:07:26.089 populations that legally rely on a direct nation 00:07:26.089 --> 00:07:28.009 to nation relationship with the federal government 00:07:28.009 --> 00:07:32.129 and you dismantle the very legislative body meant 00:07:32.129 --> 00:07:34.870 to oversee that relationship. And you do it right 00:07:34.870 --> 00:07:37.449 at the exact moment the government is actively 00:07:37.449 --> 00:07:39.740 trying to end the relationship altogether. The 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:41.620 structural change in the Senate was basically 00:07:41.620 --> 00:07:43.959 the weapon used to carry out the policy shift. 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:46.480 Without a full committee to push back, it was 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:49.180 much easier to quietly roll back a century of 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:51.160 tribal rights. The architecture of the Senate 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:53.660 perfectly mirrored the hostility of the era's 00:07:53.660 --> 00:07:55.839 policy. That is terrifying when you realize how 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:57.800 much damage can be done just by shuffling a flow 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:01.379 chart. It really is. But by the mid -1960s, the 00:08:01.379 --> 00:08:03.579 termination philosophy started to face massive 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:06.660 pushback. It was failing spectacularly, creating 00:08:06.660 --> 00:08:10.319 deep poverty and social crises. The era finally 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:13.220 decisively ended with the enactment of the Menominee 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:16.560 Restoration Act of 1973. What did that act actually 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:19.040 do? The Menominee Restoration Act was a massive 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:21.360 turning point. The Menominee Nation in Wisconsin 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:23.660 had been one of the tribes legally terminated 00:08:23.660 --> 00:08:26.860 by the federal government. This 1973 act officially 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:29.079 reversed that. OK, so they brought them back 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:32.440 into recognized status. Yes. It restored their 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:34.620 federal recognition, restored their sovereign 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:37.059 rights, and reestablished the trust relationship. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:41.019 It was Congress formally admitting that the termination 00:08:41.019 --> 00:08:44.259 era was a failure and signaling a return to a 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:47.240 policy of recognition and rebuilding. OK, so 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:49.320 the federal government changes its mind. They 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:51.139 want to start rebuilding social infrastructure 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:53.720 and providing economic opportunities for tribes 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:56.940 again. But they ran into a wall because the bureaucratic 00:08:56.940 --> 00:08:59.360 structure was a total nightmare. The classic 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:01.759 Washington problem. You have a new policy goal. 00:09:02.169 --> 00:09:04.490 But the machinery is broken. Exactly. Imagine 00:09:04.490 --> 00:09:06.750 you, the learner, are trying to build a house, 00:09:06.889 --> 00:09:09.789 but the plumbers, the electricians, and the framers 00:09:09.789 --> 00:09:12.269 all speak different languages and report to entirely 00:09:12.269 --> 00:09:14.830 different bosses. Because the original committee 00:09:14.830 --> 00:09:17.470 had been abolished back in 46, Native affairs 00:09:17.470 --> 00:09:19.629 had been splintered. Splintered everywhere. By 00:09:19.629 --> 00:09:22.590 the early 1970s, legislative jurisdiction over 00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:24.950 Native issues was fragmented across more than 00:09:24.950 --> 00:09:27.190 10 different congressional committees. Think 00:09:27.190 --> 00:09:30.110 about the friction that creates. If a tribe is 00:09:30.110 --> 00:09:32.250 trying to negotiate a comprehensive solution 00:09:32.250 --> 00:09:35.330 that involves land rights, water access, and 00:09:35.330 --> 00:09:37.950 school funding, they can't just go to one committee. 00:09:38.110 --> 00:09:39.889 They're bouncing between a dozen different congressional 00:09:39.889 --> 00:09:41.990 offices. None of which have the full picture. 00:09:42.149 --> 00:09:44.289 None of which consider Native affairs their top 00:09:44.289 --> 00:09:48.250 priority. It led to incredibly disjointed, hack 00:09:48.250 --> 00:09:50.830 -hazard development of federal Native policy. 00:09:50.870 --> 00:09:53.429 It was structural chaos. And that chaos required 00:09:53.429 --> 00:09:56.460 a very deliberate fix. The turning point began 00:09:56.460 --> 00:10:00.080 in 1973 when Senator James Aberesk introduced 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:03.620 Senate Joint Resolution 133. This resolution 00:10:03.620 --> 00:10:06.220 created the American Indian Policy Review Commission, 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:08.879 which was officially signed into law in January 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:11.679 1975. So they create a commission, basically 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:14.519 a massive task force to review all aspects of 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:16.860 policy, law and administration and figure out 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:19.509 how to clean up the mess. Precisely. And as this 00:10:19.509 --> 00:10:21.649 commission went to work interviewing tribal leaders 00:10:21.649 --> 00:10:23.929 and reviewing the fractured laws, they had a 00:10:23.929 --> 00:10:26.909 major epiphany. They realized a massive truth 00:10:26.909 --> 00:10:29.610 about how government actually functions. You 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:32.389 cannot implement sweeping systemic recommendations 00:10:32.389 --> 00:10:35.850 without a full Senate committee that possesses 00:10:35.850 --> 00:10:39.009 true legislative and oversight authority. A subcommittee 00:10:39.009 --> 00:10:41.899 can't do it. No. Ten fragmented committees certainly 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:44.659 can't do it. Right. You need a centralized, powerful 00:10:44.659 --> 00:10:47.820 hub that can subpoena records, draft comprehensive 00:10:47.820 --> 00:10:50.360 bills, and hold the executive branch accountable. 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:53.440 One of the commission's final, most critical 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.379 recommendations was exactly that, the reestablishment 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:59.340 of a full -fledged Indian Affairs Committee in 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:01.340 the Senate. But getting that permanent committee 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:04.059 was absolute bureaucratic warfare. It became 00:11:04.059 --> 00:11:06.179 this incredible fight for permanency that stretched 00:11:06.179 --> 00:11:09.879 from 1977 all the way to 1984. He was a slog. 00:11:10.350 --> 00:11:12.289 Because at the exact same time the commission 00:11:12.289 --> 00:11:13.870 was saying, hey, we need a dedicated committee, 00:11:14.090 --> 00:11:16.190 the Senate was actually trying to reorganize 00:11:16.190 --> 00:11:18.490 its entire committee system to shrink the number 00:11:18.490 --> 00:11:21.149 of committees. Their initial plan was to abolish 00:11:21.149 --> 00:11:22.809 the subcommittee on Indian affairs entirely. 00:11:23.210 --> 00:11:25.690 It was a very precarious moment. The Senate's 00:11:25.690 --> 00:11:28.129 reorganization plan was going to scatter the 00:11:28.129 --> 00:11:30.090 natural resource functions of Native affairs 00:11:30.090 --> 00:11:32.590 to new committees and hand all the human resources 00:11:32.590 --> 00:11:34.850 functions over to the Senate committee on labor 00:11:34.850 --> 00:11:37.629 and human resources. Which means labor and human 00:11:37.629 --> 00:11:40.179 resources would suddenly have... control over 00:11:40.179 --> 00:11:43.100 massive amounts of funding and policy. Why didn't 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:44.919 they just create the permanent committee right 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:47.980 then and there in 1977? If we connect this to 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:50.580 the bigger picture, you have to remember that 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:54.279 power in Washington is a zero sum game. Jurisdiction 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:56.980 equals power. Right. If you create a new committee, 00:11:57.159 --> 00:11:59.820 you are taking jurisdiction and therefore power, 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:03.139 relevance and funding away from an existing committee. 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.620 The Committee on Labor and Human Resources did 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:07.919 not want to lose that portfolio. But the sheer 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:10.580 volume and gravity of the issues made it obvious 00:12:10.580 --> 00:12:12.940 that treating Native Affairs as a side project 00:12:12.940 --> 00:12:15.700 in a labor committee would be a disaster. The 00:12:15.700 --> 00:12:17.740 Senate finally realized it had a constitutional, 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.259 legal, and historical responsibility that demanded 00:12:21.259 --> 00:12:24.190 a dedicated space. They had to pivot. So they 00:12:24.190 --> 00:12:27.529 pivoted. In February 1977, they passed Senate 00:12:27.529 --> 00:12:30.509 Resolution 4. They detached Indigenous Affairs 00:12:30.509 --> 00:12:32.529 from the new Committee on Energy and National 00:12:32.529 --> 00:12:35.090 Resources, and they created a select committee 00:12:35.090 --> 00:12:38.210 on Native Affairs. But here is the massive catch. 00:12:38.470 --> 00:12:41.529 It was temporary. Being a select committee in 00:12:41.529 --> 00:12:43.710 this context was essentially a trial run. It 00:12:43.710 --> 00:12:46.830 was a temporary life raft. Right. Being a select 00:12:46.830 --> 00:12:49.590 committee with a hard expiration date is like 00:12:49.590 --> 00:12:51.750 being a temp worker at a corporation. You're 00:12:51.750 --> 00:12:54.049 doing the job. You have zero job security. You 00:12:54.049 --> 00:12:56.190 get none of the institutional benefits and management 00:12:56.190 --> 00:12:57.889 could legally let you go at the end of the year. 00:12:57.990 --> 00:13:00.990 Exactly. The resolution explicitly stated the 00:13:00.990 --> 00:13:03.629 select committee would disband at the close of 00:13:03.629 --> 00:13:06.070 the 95th Congress. They had to prove they're 00:13:06.070 --> 00:13:07.970 worthwhile constantly fighting off their own 00:13:07.970 --> 00:13:10.809 extinction. Every single session. And what followed 00:13:10.809 --> 00:13:14.289 was a grueling seven year legislative relay race 00:13:14.289 --> 00:13:16.960 for survival. I want to walk you through this 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:19.120 timeline because it shows the sheer political 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.000 willpower required to overcome bureaucratic inertia. 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:26.299 In 1978, Senator Aberesk fights to get a two 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:28.679 -year extension. He just manages to push the 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:32.340 expiration date to January 2, 1981. He essentially 00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:35.299 passes the baton to the next Congress, keeping 00:13:35.299 --> 00:13:37.179 the temp worker employed for a few more months. 00:13:37.340 --> 00:13:40.590 Then we hit 1980. Senator John Melcher takes 00:13:40.590 --> 00:13:43.549 over as chair. He pushes a resolution to finally 00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:46.330 make it permanent. He faces pushback. He doesn't 00:13:46.330 --> 00:13:48.830 get permanency, but he does manage to wring out 00:13:48.830 --> 00:13:52.730 another extension, this time to 1984. Crucially, 00:13:52.830 --> 00:13:55.409 he also manages to expand the committee membership 00:13:55.409 --> 00:13:58.350 to seven members. That expansion is important. 00:13:58.610 --> 00:14:00.970 The life raft is getting bigger, which means 00:14:00.970 --> 00:14:03.429 more senators have a vested personal interest 00:14:03.429 --> 00:14:05.809 in keeping the committee alive. It is gaining 00:14:05.809 --> 00:14:08.169 institutional weight. Then comes the final sprint, 00:14:08.370 --> 00:14:12.629 April 1983. Senator Mark Andrews is now the chair 00:14:12.629 --> 00:14:16.129 and he introduces Senate Resolution 127 to finally 00:14:16.129 --> 00:14:18.370 make the committee permanent. He starts with 00:14:18.370 --> 00:14:21.590 28 cost sponsors, but it is an agonizingly slow 00:14:21.590 --> 00:14:24.389 process. Washington moves at its own pace. They 00:14:24.389 --> 00:14:26.629 get to the very last day of the legislative session 00:14:26.629 --> 00:14:28.610 in November and they haven't voted on it. They 00:14:28.610 --> 00:14:30.690 have to pass one more tiny extension just to 00:14:30.690 --> 00:14:33.570 keep it alive until July 1984, just to allow 00:14:33.570 --> 00:14:35.549 time for debate. They're constantly operating 00:14:35.549 --> 00:14:37.850 on the edge of the cliff. But all of that friction, 00:14:37.970 --> 00:14:40.309 all of those delays actually allowed momentum 00:14:40.309 --> 00:14:43.009 to build. By the time it hits the floor for actual 00:14:43.009 --> 00:14:46.090 consideration, they go from 28 cosponsors to 00:14:46.090 --> 00:14:49.370 60 cosponsors. A huge jump. And finally, on June 00:14:49.370 --> 00:14:52.909 6th, 1984, the Select Committee on Indian Affairs 00:14:52.909 --> 00:14:55.629 is officially made a permanent committee of the 00:14:55.629 --> 00:14:58.269 United States Senate. They fought for seven years. 00:14:58.970 --> 00:15:01.009 just to get hired full time. It was a tremendous 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:03.470 bureaucratic victory. It fundamentally secured 00:15:03.470 --> 00:15:06.149 the platform for native legislation. Once you 00:15:06.149 --> 00:15:08.429 are permanent, you get guaranteed budgets, dedicated 00:15:08.429 --> 00:15:11.190 staff, and you cannot easily be swept under the 00:15:11.190 --> 00:15:13.809 rug by shifting political winds. And in 1993, 00:15:14.169 --> 00:15:16.490 they officially dropped the word select from 00:15:16.490 --> 00:15:19.129 the title, fully solidifying its status simply 00:15:19.129 --> 00:15:21.710 as the Committee on Indian Affairs. A fully entrenched 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:23.759 part of the Senate. The history of how this committee 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.139 survived is incredible. But as we look at its 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:28.659 legacy today, there are a few really unique details 00:15:28.659 --> 00:15:31.440 about how it operates internally. For one, the 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.000 naming conventions. Most Senate committees call 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:36.360 their top minority party member the ranking member. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:38.980 But this committee refers to its ranking minority 00:15:38.980 --> 00:15:42.059 member specifically as the vice chair. Why the 00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:44.379 distinction? This raises an important question 00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:46.320 about the internal culture they intentionally 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:50.460 built. Words matter in politics. Calling someone 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:54.120 a ranking member implies a hierarchy and an adversarial 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:57.720 role. Calling someone a vice chair signals partnership. 00:15:57.940 --> 00:16:00.960 It sounds much more cooperative. It does. When 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:03.000 you look at the historical leadership roster, 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:06.519 it paints a picture of a unique bipartisan dynamic. 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:09.080 You see the exact same names coming up again 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:12.669 and again across different decades. You do. The 00:16:12.669 --> 00:16:14.929 chairmanship frequently bounced between parties, 00:16:15.070 --> 00:16:17.570 but the individual stayed intensely dedicated 00:16:17.570 --> 00:16:20.590 to the work. For instance, in the late 90s and 00:16:20.590 --> 00:16:23.809 early 2000s, you see Democrat Daniel Inouye of 00:16:23.809 --> 00:16:26.370 Hawaii and Republican Ben Campbell of Colorado. 00:16:26.509 --> 00:16:29.330 Absolutely. Depending on which party won the 00:16:29.330 --> 00:16:31.429 majority in the Senate that cycle, they would 00:16:31.429 --> 00:16:33.389 essentially just swap the chair and vice chair 00:16:33.389 --> 00:16:36.210 roles and keep working. You also see Republican 00:16:36.210 --> 00:16:38.710 John McCain holding the chairmanship for multiple 00:16:38.710 --> 00:16:40.909 tenures. So it wasn't just a stepping stone committee. 00:16:40.990 --> 00:16:44.000 It was a. career focus. Absolutely. What this 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:46.740 demonstrates is a continuous bipartisan engagement 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:49.940 with Native affairs once the committee was finally 00:16:49.940 --> 00:16:52.700 made permanent. It attracted dedicated leadership 00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:55.100 from both sides of the aisle who stayed involved 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:57.980 across multiple congresses, building real institutional 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:00.620 trust. So what does this all mean for you? Why 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:03.179 does a deep dive into the bureaucratic history 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:06.079 of a Senate committee actually matter to your 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.140 understanding of the world today? It's a great 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:10.480 question. It matters because this history is 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:13.500 proof that the actual physical structure of government 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:16.500 dictates the survival and support of the people 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:19.019 it governs. Whether a committee is a temporary 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:21.759 temp worker, whether its power is fragmented 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:24.400 across 10 different desks, or whether it is a 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:26.839 permanent centralized hub, that structure determines 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:29.819 whether policies fail or succeed. The architecture 00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:32.680 of power shapes the outcome of the policy. You 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:35.000 cannot solve a complex problem with a fragmented 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.400 system. Exactly. tracked a committee that existed 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.220 for over a century, was erased during the dark, 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:43.779 aggressive assimilation policies of the termination 00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:46.599 era, became a fragmented 10 -committee mess, 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:49.940 survived as a temporary life raft, and finally, 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:52.160 through years of grinding legislative warfare, 00:17:52.539 --> 00:17:54.960 became a permanent fixture of the U .S. Senate. 00:17:55.140 --> 00:17:57.579 And as we reflect on that journey, I want to 00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:00.200 leave you with a thought. We've seen how disastrous 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:02.940 it was in the 1970s when Native affairs were 00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:05.220 fragmented across more than 10 different committees, 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:08.339 leading to completely haphazard conflicting policies. 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:11.619 Right. It makes you wonder. Looking at our government 00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:13.980 today, what other critical marginalized issues 00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:16.039 are currently suffering from that exact same 00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:18.640 fragmentation effect, waiting for their own dedicated 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:20.839 committee to finally bring things into focus? 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:23.579 Oh, that is a brilliant question to chew on. 00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:25.940 Is climate change or artificial intelligence 00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:28.480 or data privacy suffering right now? Because 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:30.920 the jurisdiction is split across a dozen different 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:33.259 desks. Something to keep in mind the next time 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:35.180 you hear about a complicated issue struggling 00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:37.720 to find a solution in Washington. Thank you, 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:39.539 you the learner, for joining us on this deep 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:42.460 dive. Stay curious, keep looking past the jargon, 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:44.119 and keep seeking out the fascinating stories 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:46.319 hidden right there inside the bureaucracy. We 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:47.279 will catch you next time.