CONGRESSIONAL News:

ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and Sen. Martin Heinrich will join Pueblo of Acoma leaders 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18 to celebrate H.R. 2930, the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act becoming law.

The STOP Act prohibits the exporting of sacred Native American items and increases penalties for stealing and illegally trafficking Tribal cultural patrimony. It will help prevent instances like the auction of a shield, stolen from the Pueblo of Acoma.

The law creates a federal framework to support voluntary return of sacred items, including a referral program to allow the Department of the Interior to assist individuals in finding a tribe with a cultural affiliation to tribal cultural heritage they want to return.

Rep. Leger Fernández first introduced the STOP Act in the House in 2021. She led on the bill in the House of Representatives alongside Senator Heinrich who championed the bill in the Senate.