Indian Country
Native Americans have lived in the land we now call New Mexico since time immemorial. I am proud to stand with the Tribes and Pueblos in New Mexico and across Indian Country to defend Tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
During my time in Congress, I led the effort to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and pass the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (HEARTH) Act, which makes it easier to get a lease on trust land, helping Native families buy homes and attract businesses and jobs to tribal communities. I also successfully fought to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which bolstered law enforcement efforts and provided resources for victims of domestic violence, particularly for Native women. And I passed my Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act to prohibit the exporting of sacred Native American items and increase penalties for stealing and illegally trafficking Tribal cultural patrimony.
I will continue to work in partnership with Tribes and Pueblos to unlock critical water infrastructure funding and secure federal approval of Tribal water settlements, protect cultural landscapes for future generations, and deliver federal investments to support education, cultural preservation, language revitalization, housing, transportation, high-speed internet infrastructure, and public safety.
Latest News
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, is pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately rectify mounting delays with the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)...
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TAOS, N.M. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland joined a community gathering with local leaders to commemorate the federal acquisition of 3,700 acres of land adjacent to the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in Taos County, N.M....
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RUIDOSO, N.M. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) released the following joint statement, announcing that President Joe Biden has approved a Major Disaster Declaration for Lincoln County and the Mescalero...
