[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 460 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 460
Commemorating and celebrating the extraordinary contributions of the
late Honorable Raul Grijalva, honoring his legacy of service,
dedication, and unwavering advocacy for the people of Arizona and
indigenous communities across the country.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 3, 2025
Ms. Davids of Kansas submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on House Administration
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RESOLUTION
Commemorating and celebrating the extraordinary contributions of the
late Honorable Raul Grijalva, honoring his legacy of service,
dedication, and unwavering advocacy for the people of Arizona and
indigenous communities across the country.
Whereas the Honorable Raul Grijalva dedicated his life to public service and
demonstrated steadfast commitment to upholding Tribal sovereignty,
protecting sacred lands, and improving the well-being of Tribal
communities through his time in Congress;
Whereas he served as a distinguished Member of the House of Representatives for
over 22 years, representing Arizona's 7th Congressional District with
unwavering commitment and integrity;
Whereas, throughout his tenure, Congressman Grijalva championed policies that
promoted equitable education, economic opportunity, environmental
justice, and health care access for underserved communities;
Whereas, as Chair and ranking minority member of the House Natural Resources
Committee, he was a steadfast advocate for environmental protection,
public lands, and indigenous rights, working tirelessly to ensure
responsible stewardship of America's natural resources;
Whereas he used his leadership role on the Committee to center and uplift
indigenous voices and ensure that Federal policies respected and
advanced Tribal sovereignty and self-determination across the
Committee's work;
Whereas Representative Grijalva used his oversight authority to hold Federal
agencies accountable for failures to uphold the Federal trust
responsibility, highlighting inadequate Tribal consultation practices
and demanding reforms at agencies such as the Department of the Interior
and the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
Whereas Representative Grijalva stood with Tribal leaders and fought to protect
sacred sites, including through his leadership on the Save Oak Flat Act,
which strived to protect Oak Flat, or Chi'chil Bi5dagoteel, a sacred
site for the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other Tribal communities in
Arizona from a destructive mining project;
Whereas Representative Grijalva steadfastly championed the protection of other
sacred sites--including Bears Ears and Chaco Canyon--standing in
solidarity with Tribal nations to safeguard lands of profound cultural
and spiritual value;
Whereas Representative Grijalva demonstrated unwavering support for the Standing
Rock Sioux Tribe during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests by traveling
to North Dakota to meet with Tribal leaders and water protectors,
advocating for the protection of sacred sites and clean water, and
calling for the suspension of pipeline construction;
Whereas Representative Grijalva was a foremost proponent of protecting the Grand
Canyon, and worked tirelessly with Tribes to protect it, including
introducing the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2008, to
prohibit new uranium mining across 1 million acres of public lands in
watersheds surrounding Grand Canyon National Park, and in 2012 President
Obama announced a moratorium on mining in the 1 million acres, later
introducing the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, the Grand Canyon
Protection Act, and finally the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Grand Canyon
National Monument Act, and in 2023 President Biden announced designation
of the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand
Canyon National Monument to permanently protect and preserves the rich
cultural, ecological, scientific, historic, and scenic value of the
greater Grand Canyon landscape;
Whereas Representative Grijalva championed landmark legislation such as the
Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act, Tribal Cultural Areas
Protection Act, the Tribal Heritage and American Bison, Grizzly Bear,
and Wolf Restoration and Coexistence Act, which aimed to elevate Tribal
stewardship of public lands and safeguard sacred sites, the Native Child
Protection Act, addressing critical protections for Native children and
families, and legislation to extend Federal employee health benefits to
employees of urban Indian health organizations and Tribal colleges and
universities;
Whereas Representative Grijalva was a leader for Tribal education on the House
Committee on Education and Workforce working to strengthen educational
opportunities for Native students, including his leadership to support
Native Head Start, Tribal language preservation, and the Udall
Foundation;
Whereas Representative Grijalva consistently advocated for addressing the crisis
of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, leading resolutions
to designate National Days of Awareness and bringing national attention
to this critical issue;
Whereas Representative Grijalva introduced legislation to resolve Tribal water
rights settlements, aiming to provide safe and clean water to Tribal
nations and communities, addressing long-standing issues of water access
in Indian Country;
Whereas Representative Grijalva worked to address the mental health crisis by
introducing the Native American Suicide Prevention Act, bipartisan
legislation that was signed into law to help address the
disproportionately high rates of suicide in Native communities by
ensuring Tribal involvement in the development of prevention strategies;
Whereas Representative Grijalva helped convene the first full committee hearings
to examine Tribal land dispossession by the United States Government and
their impacts;
Whereas Representative Grijalva secured inclusion of Tribal nations in the
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization to protect women,
children, and elders;
Whereas Representative Grijalva consistently advocated for the inclusion of
Native communities in Federal climate resilience initiatives and
infrastructure investments, recognizing that they are on the frontlines
of climate change and environmental degradation;
Whereas Representative Grijalva developed relationships with many Tribal nations
and was considered a closely trusted friend and congressional partner;
and
Whereas Representative Grijalva's unwavering commitment to environmental justice
and climate action was deeply rooted in his respect for indigenous
leadership and knowledge: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the House of Representatives commemorates and
celebrates the extraordinary contributions of Raul M. Grijalva,
honoring his legacy of service, dedication, and unwavering
advocacy for the people of Arizona and indigenous communities
across the country; and
(2) this resolution serves as a testament to his work for
the people of Arizona's 7th Congressional district and lifetime
of dedication to issues impacting Indian Country.
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