Why it Matters

Three tribal land bills that already passed the House are now waiting on the Senate, and a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, June 3 at 628 Dirksen will determine whether they advance or stall. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), will take up six measures touching Native American land rights, financial settlements, and historical grievances spanning from New York to California to Oklahoma. For the tribes involved, the stakes range from resolving 43-year-old lawsuits to reclaiming land tied to one of the federal government's most shameful boarding school legacies.

The Big Picture

Three of the six measures on Wednesday's Senate hearing schedule have already cleared the House, giving this Senate committee hearing particular urgency.

H.R. 2916 / S.3475 — Akwesasne Mohawk Land Claim (New York): The House passed H.R. 2916 by voice vote on December 9, 2025, sending it to the Senate. The bill would ratify a negotiated settlement among the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, the State of New York, Franklin and St. Lawrence Counties, the New York Power Authority, and several local municipalities to resolve land disputes dating to the 1980s. As one account put it, the legislation "will finally resolve the Akwesasne Land Claim after 43 years of litigation and 11 years of negotiation." The Senate companion, S.3475, was introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer (neither sits on the Indian Affairs Committee), making Wednesday's hearing the critical gateway.

H.R. 2400 / S.2871 — Pit River Tribe Land Transfer (California): The House passed H.R. 2400 on December 15, 2025, after the Natural Resources Committee reported it out. The bill would transfer roughly 584 acres of U.S. Forest Service land in northern California into trust for the Pit River Tribe, with gaming explicitly prohibited on the transferred land. The Department of the Interior has already published a formal summary of the House bill on its pending legislation page, a signal of executive branch engagement. The Senate companion was introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla, who does not sit on the committee.

H.R. 2389 / S.1514 — Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer (Washington): The House passed H.R. 2389 by voice vote on December 9, 2025. The bill transfers approximately 72 acres of Forest Service land in Washington State into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation, with gaming barred on the transferred property. The Senate companion was introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell, who does sit on the Indian Affairs Committee, giving this bill an inside advocate as the panel considers it Wednesday.

The remaining three measures are at earlier stages but carry significant policy weight.

S.3219 — Albuquerque Indian School Act (New Mexico): This bill would transfer roughly 10 acres of federal land in Albuquerque, parcels from the historic Albuquerque Indian School, into trust for New Mexico's 19 Pueblos, for use in education, health, cultural, and economic development purposes. Gaming is explicitly prohibited. The House companion, H.R. 6162, was ordered reported out of the Natural Resources Committee by unanimous consent on April 21, 2026. Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, a committee member, is a cosponsor of the Senate bill, giving the Pueblos a direct voice in the room. The effort to return these school lands is part of a decades-long legislative process; a prior version became law in 2008 for other parcels.

S.2796 — Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Land Exchange (California): This bill authorizes a voluntary swap between the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the U.S. Forest Service in San Bernardino County. The tribe gives up roughly 1,460 acres of tribally-owned land and receives approximately 1,475 acres of National Forest System land in return. A related House subcommittee hearing was held in September 2025. Neither of the Senate sponsors, Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, sits on the Indian Affairs Committee.

S.630 — Quapaw Nation Treasury Payment (Oklahoma): Unlike the land bills, S.630 is a financial settlement. It would authorize a one-time payment of $137.5 million from the U.S. Treasury to the Quapaw Nation and certain tribal members in accordance with a U.S. Court of Federal Claims recommendation stemming from the case Bear et al. v. United States, a federal trust mismanagement claim tied to the Tar Creek Superfund site in northeastern Oklahoma, one of the most contaminated sites in the country. The bill was introduced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Cherokee Nation citizen who chairs and sits on the Indian Affairs Committee, giving it a powerful internal champion. The House companion had a subcommittee hearing in April 2025.

The Bottom Line

The Trump administration's posture toward tribal sovereignty and federal trust responsibilities looms over all six bills. Land-into-trust decisions have historically been contentious, with opponents arguing they remove land from local tax rolls and circumvent state and local land use authority. The explicit gaming prohibitions written into several of these bills appear designed to preempt that line of opposition.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing schedule for Wednesday reflects a deliberate packaging strategy: three bills with House-passed momentum, two with active House committee activity, and one championed by the committee's own chair. Murkowski, who has long maintained a reputation for working across party lines on Native issues, and Vice Chair Brian Schatz of Hawaii will preside. The hearing convenes at 628 Dirksen.

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