Rep. Young stirs questions in Indian Country in two hearings

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) is well-known for his defense of tribal self-determination but in just two hearings he has managed to inject uncertainty into his legacy.

The first salvo -- or "fusillade" as Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn put it -- came on April 22. He invited an attorney from Alaska whose opposition to Native sovereignty has earned him comparisons to the Ku Klux Klan to testify about federal recognition and allowed lawmakers to question the legitimacy of dozens of tribes.

"I've heard some really troubling things at this hearing," Washburn, the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, told Young at the time.

http://www.indianz.com/News/2015/017513.asp