Photo sourced from video thumbnail - "Sen. Mike Rounds Introduces RESPECT Act on Senate floor"
On May 28th the U.S. Senate approved the RESPECT Act, S.789, sponsored by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD). Rounds first brought the Act to the Senate in 2019, then known as S.2071. In November of 2019, the House of Representatives referred the act to the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States. If enacted, the bill would "repeal certain provisions related to the treatment of Indians, including provisions on hostile tribes, alcohol, work requirements, penalties for truancy, and placement of youth in reform school without the consent of a parent or guardian." (Source)
“We are one step closer to removing these immoral, discriminatory federal laws from our books,” says Sen. Rounds.
Stay Updated on the RESPECT Act
Original post on October 22, 2019:
"Mike Rounds, Republican Junior Senator for South Dakota, is sponsoring The Repealing Existing Substandard Provisions Encouraging Conciliation with Tribes (RESPECT) Act.
According to GovTrack, "the RESPECT Act would repeal all or parts of 11 such federal laws. Among them:
- An 1862 law allowing the president to unilaterally declare a treaty with a Native American tribe to be null and void.
- An 1847 law preventing any payments to a Native American person “while they are under the influence of intoxicating liquor.”
- An 1875 law allowing for the forced labor of Native Americans between ages 18 and 45".
