BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. Senate field hearing planned for next week will focus on the importance of coal to some American Indian tribes in the West.

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing will be held April 8 at Little Big Horn College on the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, said the event will highlight efforts by tribes such as the Crow to become more independent by tapping into their coal reserves.

Crow Chairman Darrin Old Coyote is scheduled to testify. The tribe has one mine on its reservation and a second mine has been proposed by Cloud Peak Energy of Wyoming.

Also scheduled to appear are Lorenzo Bates, speaker for the Navajo Nation in Arizona, and Montana Attorney General Tim Fox.

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