Indian Country Today Politics

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk has approved a realignment of his office’s organizational and reporting structure. The realignment is contained in an order he signed Sept. 11, effective immediately.

WASHINGTON – White House officials chose Columbus Day to announce a first-of-its-kind conference to be held with leaders from all federally recognized tribes. President Barack Obama will host a White House Tribal Nations Conference Nov. 5 from 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – She is the first woman elected to chair the Mohegan Tribal Council, but Lynn Malerba says she is just the latest in the nation’s long line of women leaders.

WASHINGTON – A group of senators has requested that President Barack Obama strengthen tribal self-governance and support self-sufficiency by funding longstanding shortfalls in the federal contract support system.

WASHINGTON – Voter rights advocates are calling on the Obama administration’s Justice Department to improve the system for Native Americans.

WASHINGTON – For the second year in a row, the Senate has voted to apologize to Native Americans for historical injustices.

WASHINGTON – Some Alaskan politicos say that Todd Palin, the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, has held unprecedented power over her decision-making process during her two years in the state’s highest office. Since he’s Alaska Native, some Indians can’t help but wonder if his spousal sway could result in more tribal influence in the White House if Sen. McCain were elected.

WASHINGTON – Indian country is one step closer to seeing federal lawmakers take action on tribal energy policy.

It was Jan. 28, 1986, in the boardroom of the American Indian National Bank in Washington, DC. I remember the date well because of why the meeting ended abruptly. I and a couple of my associates of Charles Trimble Company were briefing then-Congressman John McCain on the findings of a recent study we conducted.

WASHINGTON – Phil Hogen, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission will be stepping down after nine years on the job.

WASHINGTON – A flurry of activity has overcome the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, with a tribal justice bill making it out of committee and several other bills, including ones focused on Indian youth suicide and tribal water rights, receiving attention.

WASHINGTON – The nation’s top health official has told Indian country health leaders that the Obama administration believes American Indians deserve special consideration in any national reform to health insurance.

WASHINGTON – Members of the Tule River Tribe of California are growing increasingly frustrated with the Department of the Interior as it continues to stall the tribe’s ability to secure clean and reliable water resources.

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency, long an ally on certain tribal issues, is stepping up its commitment to enhancing water services in Indian country by working with IHS.

In this new social and political era, we will be challenged to solve the problems that plague our tribal communities, moving up from victims to victors; the one thing we must do is shed the chains of victimhood.

As a Native woman, it is tough not to feel distrustful of and cynical toward most politicians. But on the crest of this election season, unlike any prior, I feel buoyed. I feel energized, engaged and excited. I feel something new: hope.

WASHINGTON – When several tribal leaders trekked to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds Aug. 31, it represented one of the rare times in American history when a cross-section of tribes were invited by a sitting president’s staff to conduct official business.

SEATTLE – Sen. Edward M. Kennedy passed away at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Mass. Aug. 26. He was 77. Kennedy was a larger than life political icon, the last surviving brother of President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

WASHINGTON – Phil Hogen, the chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission has given “a vigorous response” to a story that appeared in Indian Country Today in which the National Indian Gaming Association asked President Barack Obama to replace Hogen and stop the commission from publishing new gaming rules until the new official is in place.

WASHINGTON – The National Indian Gaming Association has asked President Barack Obama to appoint a new chairman to the National Indian Gaming Commission immediately, and stop the current commission from publishing proposed revisions to gaming regulations until the new official is in place.