S.Res. 585

119 SRES 585 ATS: Honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
 U.S. Senate
 2026-01-15
 text/xml
 EN
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 III  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. RES. 585  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   January 15, 2026   Mr. Bennet  (for himself,  Mr. Hickenlooper ,  Mr. Thune ,  Mr. Schumer ,  Ms. Alsobrooks ,  Ms. Baldwin ,  Mr. Banks ,  Mr. Barrasso ,  Mrs. Blackburn ,  Mr. Blumenthal ,  Ms. Blunt Rochester ,  Mr. Booker ,  Mr. Boozman ,  Mrs. Britt ,  Mr. Budd ,  Ms. Cantwell ,  Mrs. Capito ,  Mr. Cassidy ,  Ms. Collins ,  Mr. Coons ,  Mr. Cornyn ,  Ms. Cortez Masto ,  Mr. Cotton ,  Mr. Cramer ,  Mr. Crapo ,  Mr. Cruz ,  Mr. Curtis ,  Mr. Daines ,  Ms. Duckworth ,  Mr. Durbin ,  Ms. Ernst ,  Mr. Fetterman ,  Mrs. Fischer ,  Mr. Gallego ,  Mrs. Gillibrand ,  Mr. Graham ,  Mr. Grassley ,  Mr. Hagerty ,  Ms. Hassan ,  Mr. Hawley ,  Mr. Heinrich ,  Ms. Hirono ,  Mr. Hoeven ,  Mr. Husted ,  Mrs. Hyde-Smith ,  Mr. Johnson ,  Mr. Justice ,  Mr. Kaine ,  Mr. Kelly ,  Mr. Kennedy ,  Mr. Kim ,  Mr. King ,  Ms. Klobuchar ,  Mr. Lankford ,  Mr. Lee ,  Mr. Luján ,  Ms. Lummis ,  Mr. Markey ,  Mr. Marshall ,  Mr. McConnell ,  Mr. McCormick ,  Mr. Merkley ,  Mrs. Moody ,  Mr. Moran ,  Mr. Moreno ,  Mr. Mullin ,  Ms. Murkowski ,  Mr. Murphy ,  Mrs. Murray ,  Mr. Ossoff ,  Mr. Padilla ,  Mr. Paul ,  Mr. Peters ,  Mr. Reed ,  Mr. Ricketts ,  Mr. Risch ,  Ms. Rosen ,  Mr. Rounds ,  Mr. Sanders ,  Mr. Schatz ,  Mr. Schiff ,  Mr. Schmitt ,  Mr. Scott of Florida ,  Mr. Scott of South Carolina ,  Mrs. Shaheen ,  Mr. Sheehy ,  Ms. Slotkin ,  Ms. Smith ,  Mr. Sullivan ,  Mr. Tillis ,  Mr. Tuberville ,  Mr. Van Hollen ,  Mr. Warner ,  Mr. Warnock ,  Ms. Warren ,  Mr. Welch ,  Mr. Whitehouse ,  Mr. Wicker ,  Mr. Wyden , and  Mr. Young ) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to   RESOLUTION
Honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell was born on April 13, 1933, in Auburn, California;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell joined the United States Air Force in 1951 and was stationed in Korea during the Korean War, serving as an air policeman;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell left the United States Air Force in 1953 with the rank of Airman Second Class and was awarded the Korean Service Medal and the Air Medal;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell went on to graduate from university and excel in judo, winning 3 national titles in the United States, competing in the 1963 Pan-American Games, and representing the United States on a global stage during the 1964 Summer Olympics, where he was the first Native American to ever compete on the United States Olympic judo team;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell and his wife, Linda, moved to her home State of Colorado and went on to buy a ranch near Ignacio on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell learned how to fashion jewelry from his father, going on to create internationally award-winning jewelry and founding Nighthorse Jewelry, a successful family business that spans 3 generations of craftsmanship;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell was elected to the Colorado State Legislature, where he served for 4 years and was voted one of the 10 best legislators by his colleagues;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell was then elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, becoming one of the few enrolled members of a federally recognized Tribe to serve in the United States Congress;
Whereas, during his tenure in the House of Representatives, Ben Nighthorse Campbell authored landmark legislation to establish the National Museum of the American Indian, honoring the legacy of American indigenous communities;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell also authored legislation elevating Black Canyon of the Gunnison to a national park, creating the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, and passed the Animas-La Plata water projects for the Southern Ute Indian and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell was then elected to the Senate in 1993, serving as the chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate between 1997 and 2005;
Whereas, during the 105th Congress, Ben Nighthorse Campbell passed more legislation than any other Member of the Senate;
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell was the first and only American Indian to chair the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and was a member of the Council of 44 Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe; and
Whereas Ben Nighthorse Campbell was a trailblazer who championed bipartisan action and dedicated his entire life in service of his community, the people of Colorado, and the United States: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)
has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Ben Nighthorse Campbell, former Senator from Colorado;
(2)
honors the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Campbell for—
(A)
his service to his country in the United States Air Force; and
(B)
his exceptional tenure as a Member of both the Senate and the House of Representatives;
(3)
respectfully requests the Secretary of the Senate to—
(A)
communicate this resolution to the House of Representatives; and
(B)
transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of Ben Nighthorse Campbell; and
(4)
stands in recess as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Ben Nighthorse Campbell when the Senate recesses today.