James Abourezk

James Abourezk
Abourezk in 1977
Chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee
In office
January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979
Preceded byJoseph C. O'Mahoney (1947)
Succeeded byJohn Melcher
United States Senator
from South Dakota
In office
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979
Preceded byKarl Mundt
Succeeded byLarry Pressler
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Dakota's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973
Preceded byE. Y. Berry
Succeeded byJames Abdnor
Personal details
Born
James George Abourezk

(1931-02-24)February 24, 1931
Wood, South Dakota, U.S.
DiedFebruary 24, 2023(2023-02-24) (aged 92)
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Mary Ann Houlton
(m. 1952; div. 1981)

Margaret Bethea
(m. 1982, divorced)

Sanaa Dieb
(m. 1991)
Children3
Education
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1948–1952
Battles/warsKorean War

James George Abourezk (/ˈæbərɛsk/ AB-ur-esk;[1] February 24, 1931 – February 24, 2023) was an American attorney and politician from South Dakota. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress for one term each; a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and a member of the United States Senate from 1973 to 1979; he was the first Arab to serve in the United States Senate.[2] In 1980, Abourezk founded the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) with the goal of counteracting anti-Arab racism in the country.[3] He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, but was also a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly with regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict. Under his leadership, the ADC became especially active following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War, during which he became concerned about the rising rate of targeted hate crimes against Arabs and also against people misidentified as Arabs.

Abourezk represented South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and in the United States Senate from 1973 to 1979. He was the author of the Indian Child Welfare Act, which was passed by the United States Congress in 1978 to help preserve the families and culture of Native Americans. As a federal law, it gives Native tribal governments exclusive jurisdiction over children who reside on or are domiciled on an Indian reservation; and it gives them concurrent, but presumptive jurisdiction over foster care placement proceedings for children who do not live on a Native reservation.

  1. ^ Traub, Alex (February 26, 2023). "James Abourezk, the First Arab American Senator, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Groves, Stephen (February 24, 2023). "James Abourezk, 1st Arab American U.S. senator, dies at 92". The Independent. Associated Press. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Hall, Loretta (1999). "James Abourezk". Arab American Biography. Vol. 1. Detroit: U.X.L. pp. 18–25. ISBN 0-7876-2954-5.

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