In releasing the proposals, Warren is drawing attention to Native American issues after months of largely refraining from doing so in the wake of a controversy over her own heritage. Warren put out the plans ahead of a scheduled appearance Monday at a presidential forum in Sioux City, Iowa, that is dedicated to Native American issues.
Among the proposals, Warren said she would revoke the permits for the Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline, two projects that have been opposed by many Native Americans. No energy project affecting tribal lands should go ahead, she said, “without the free, prior and informed consent of the Tribal Nation concerned.”
She also called for expanding the ability of tribes to prosecute non-American Indians for crimes committed on tribal land, and she proposed creating a nationwide alert system for missing indigenous women.
“As a nation, we are failing in our legal, political, and moral obligations toward tribal governments and indigenous peoples,” Warren wrote in a Medium post. “That this failure is simply the latest chapter in generations of prior failures is no excuse.”
Warren has been dogged by questions over her claims of Native American ancestry since she first ran for the Senate in 2012. President Donald Trump has relentlessly mocked her by calling her “Pocahontas,” and the controversy over her ancestry marred the beginning of her presidential campaign.
In October, before she entered the presidential race, she released the results of a DNA test providing evidence that she had a Native American ancestor. But the move drew criticism from some Native Americans; the secretary of state of the Cherokee Nation said Warren was “undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage.” Warren has since apologized for her claims of Native American ancestry.
In recent months, Warren has mostly avoided bringing up Native American issues, despite having pledged to be a vocal ally.
“I still, I am working on being a good partner,” Warren said in an interview with The New York Times last week. “And the best way to be a good partner is to walk the walk.”
Warren’s collection of policy proposals draws on plans she has previously released during her campaign on issues like housing, public lands and child care.
It also draws on a wide-ranging legislative proposal that she released Friday with Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress.
The proposal with Haaland, who endorsed Warren’s presidential bid last month, is in response to a report released in December by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The report found that “federal programs designed to support the social and economic well-being of Native Americans remain chronically underfunded.”
The proposal from Warren and Haaland addresses areas like criminal justice, health care and education.
As a presidential candidate, Warren has become known for her detailed policy plans on a wide variety of subjects. Her collection of proposals on Native American issues is among the most significant policy platforms released by a 2020 candidate with indigenous communities in mind.
Julián Castro, the former housing secretary and San Antonio mayor, unveiled a plan last month that focuses on indigenous communities, with sections on issues like tribal sovereignty, treaty commitments and voting rights. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont also has a list of priorities to support Native people.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.