The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, including chair Sen. Lisa Murkowski, is holding a special public hearing in Bethel on Wednesday, May 6. They want to hear from regional leaders and community members about disaster response, mitigation, resilience, and relocation programs serving tribal communities.
The hearing is open to the public. It starts at 1 p.m. in the Blueberry Conference Room at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation hospital and runs until 5:30 p.m.
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., a panel of witnesses including tribal, healthcare, and governmental representatives is scheduled to testify before the federal committee. The full list of witnesses can be found on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs website.
From 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., a listening session will be open to comments from tribal leaders, who can sign up on-site to participate.
Public comments can be submitted within 30 days of the hearing by emailing testimony@indian.senate.gov.
The hearing is the second part of a two-part hearing that began May 5 in Anchorage with a roundtable discussion featuring tribal leaders from Kipnuk and Kwigillingok focused on disaster impacts, recovery, and resilience.
In-person attendance is encouraged in Bethel. For those unable to attend, tune into KYUK 640AM to from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to catch the field hearing portion of the event, or watch the livestream on KYUK's website.
For additional information about the May 6 hearing, please contact the hearing clerk at (202) 224-2251.
