Indian Country

Our tribal communities have always enhanced New Mexico’s rich culture and traditions.  

Issues that affect Indian Country are a top priority for me. As a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I led the effort to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. I also sponsored the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (HEARTH) Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in 2012.  The HEARTH Act makes it easier to get a lease on trust land, which helps Native families buy homes and helps attract businesses and jobs to tribal communities.

I proudly cosponsored the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill to prevent violence against women, including Native women, by bolstering law enforcement efforts and providing necessary resources for victims of domestic violence.

I take pride in working with our tribal communities, and will continue to defend and protect tribal sovereignty, and advocate on their behalf on issues such as education, water access, housing, infrastructure, public safety, and cultural preservation.

Latest

  • In Key Committee Hearing, Heinrich Calls For Protection Of Chaco Canyon Area

    May 14, 2019) - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivered opening remarks at a Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining hearing on S. 1079, the Chaco Culture Heritage Area Protection Act, a bill he introduced with U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) to withdraw the federal lands around Chaco Canyon from further mineral development. Read More

  • Delegation moves to create buffer around Chaco

    Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation on Tuesday announced legislation preventing the sale of oil and gas leases on federally owned lands in a 10-mile radius surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich, Luján, Haaland Introduce Legislation to Protect Chaco Canyon Area

    WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján and Deb Haaland introduced the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, S. 1079, a bill to withdraw the federal lands around Chaco Canyon from further mineral development. The bill, alongside anticipated actions from State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, would help ensure the protection of Chaco ruins and the greater landscape surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park by preventing any future leasing or development of minerals owned by the U.S. government that are located within an approximately 10-mile protected radius around Chaco. Read More

  • NM Lawmakers, Tribal & State Leaders to Hold Press Conference Call to Unveil Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act

    WASHINGTON - TODAY, Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. MT, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, along with U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján, the U.S. House Assistant Speaker, and Deb Haaland, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, All Pueblo Council of Governors Chairman E. Paul Torres, and New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard will hold a press conference call to announce the reintroduction of the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, a bill to prevent any future mineral leasing on federally-owned lands around Chaco Canyon.  Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich, Luján, Haaland Announce More Than $114 Million to Indian Health Service for 3 New Mexico Facilities

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall, ranking member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Martin Heinrich, along with U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján and Deb Haaland, announced that the Indian Health Service (IHS) allocated $114.2 million in funding to continue planning and construction for three key New Mexico facilities. The award will enable IHS to move forward with critical projects at three facilities, including $87.2 million to complete replacement of Pueblo Pintado Health Center in Crownpoint, $25 million to fund the construction of a new Albuquerque West Health Center in Albuquerque, and $2 million in planning funds for the replacement of the Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup. Read More

  • Udall, Luján, NM Delegation Introduce Bicameral Native American Voting Rights Act

    WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján, along with U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representatives Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small, led a group of Senate and House Democrats in re-introducing the Native American Voting Rights Act, landmark legislation that would provide the necessary resources and oversight to ensure Native Americans and Alaska Natives have equal access to the electoral process.  Udall led the introduction of the Native American Voting Rights Act last Congress. Read More