House Natural Resources Committee Holds Hearing on Fernández, Young, Cole, Davids' STOP Act

Press Release

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández, Don Young (R-Alaska), Tom Cole (R-Okla.), and Sharice Davids' (D-Kan.) STOP Act.

The bipartisan legislation would prohibit the exporting of sacred Native American items and increase penalties for stealing and illegally trafficking Tribal cultural patrimony.

"Throughout history, Native American cultural items such as human remains, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony have been looted and sold to collectors in ourcountry and abroad," said Leger Fernández during the hearing. "The STOP Act gives Tribes, Pueblos, and Nations a tool to close the door on the illegal exportation of cultural objects. Provisions of the STOP Act are designed to keep cultural objects where they belong, with the people who revered them and consider them a part of their belief system and way of life."

Governor Brian Vallo of the Pueblo of Acoma expressed his support of the bill and highlighted the need to have federal legislation to protect Tribal patrimony and criminalize the export of trafficked items.

"The STOP Act would provide the mechanisms that we need to ensure that these items are protected and are not exported and illegally trafficked. By having a policy in place, this would allow for small Tribes, some who don't have the resources to engage in this effort, the opportunity to work directly with federal agencies and the Interior to ensure that their items are addressed," said Governor Vallo during the hearing.

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