This summer, Christina Andrews (rising 2L) was a recipient of the Native American Congressional Internship, under the bi-partisan Udall Foundation. She is grateful to have been placed with Congressman Raul Grijalva’s office. In her position, she is learning the Legislative Process by working on Bill H.R. 3166, The Native American Suicide Prevention Act 2017, which would require input by American Indian/Alaskan Native communities to the state receiving federal grants to develop and implement statewide suicide prevention strategies. This bill would open constructive dialogue between the state and tribes.

She is also working on a bill to make Consultation with tribes a law. Presently, Consultation at the federal level is not actually defined in statute. There has been an executive order since the Clinton Administration that requires each federal agency to have a tribal consultation policy and to “Consult” with Tribes. Those policies spell out the federal responsibilities, but not necessarily what a state would be required to do. It is worth noting that the executive order has yet to be reaffirmed by the current administration.