Smoke Signals 3
JANUARY 1,2011
Tcrnlbsin CoonmeD mraemnilbeirs atitieirndl soamniinniD;
Kennedy, Tom join fellow
Native leaders in meeting
with President Obama and
his administration
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signal editor
Grand Ronde Tribal Chairwom
an Cheryle A. Kennedy and Tribal
Council Secretary Kathleen Tom
attended the second annual Tribal
Nations Summit in Washington,
D.C., on Thursday, Dec. 16, and
heard President Barack Obama
and his administration's repre
sentatives continue their pledge
to make American Indian and
Alaska Native governments "full
and equal partners in our federal
family."
The Tribal Nations Summit was
attended by hundreds of Tribal
leaders from the 565 federally rec- ,
ognized Tribes in the United States
and featured a keynote speech from
President Obama and attendance
by nine members of his Cabinet.
In addition, several members of
Congress and senior administra
tion officials attended.
"His commitment remains
strong," Kennedy said during the
Dec. 22 Tribal Council meeting
about Obama's dealings with In
dian Country. "There has been a
flurry of activity (on Indian issues)
compared to previous efforts."
After Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar offered opening remarks,
the colors were presented by the
Navajo Code Talkers Color Guard.
Hunter Street, a 7-year-old member
of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Anka
ra Nation and Spirit Lake Dakota,
sang the Lakota flag song and Gov.
James Lujan (Taos Pueblo) gave
the invocation.
President Fawn Sharp of the
Quinault Indian Nation in Wash
ington state introduced President
Obama.
Obama told Native representa
tives about the accomplishments
of his administration and said that
the United States would support
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Photo courtesy of the National Congress of American Indians
President Barack Obama addresses the White House Tribal Nations Summit in
Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Dec. 1 6.
the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
He said the United States would
continue to fulfill "the aspirations
it affirms - including the respect for
the institutions and rich cultures of
Native peoples."
The day before the Tribal Nations .
Summit, Obama met with 12 Tribal
leaders to continue "conversations
that began long before I was presi
dent," he said, emphasizing that
he wants to hear more about "how
we can strengthen the relationship
between our governments."
Obama and Salazar cited several
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administrative successes, from per
manently authorizing the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act
to settling discrimination claims
brought by Native American farm
ers and ranchers against the U.S.
Department of Agriculture to help
ing to rebuild Native American
economies by investing in roads,
school renovations and job train
ing. "We're making progress," Obama
said. "We're moving forward. And
what I hope is that we are seeing
a turning point in the relationship
between our nations. The truth is,
for a long time, Native Americans
were implicitly told that they had
a choice to make. By virtue of
the longstanding failure to tackle
wrenching problems in Indian
Country, it seemed as though you
had to either abandon your heritage
or accept a lesser lot in life; that
there was no way to be a successful
part of America and a proud Native
American.
"But we know this is a false
choice. To accept it is to believe that
we can't and won't do better. And
I don't accept that. I know there is
not a single person in this room who
accepts that either. We know that,
ultimately, this is not just a mat
ter of legislation, not just a matter
of policy. It's a matter of whether
we're going to live up to our basic
values. It's a matter of upholding an
ideal that has always defined who
we are as Americans. E pluribus
unum. Out of many, one."
After Obama's speech, Tribal
leaders attended one of five simul
taneous breakout sessions that
included "Nation-to-Nation Rela
tionship" with Deputy Secretary
of the Interior David Hayes;
"Education, Health Care and
Community Services" with
Indian Health Service Director
Dr. Yvette Roubideaux; "Eco
nomic Development, Housing
and Infrastructure" with De
partment of Interior Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs Del
Laverdure; "Tribal Land, Cul
tural Protection and Natural
Resources" with Department
of Justice Assistant Attorney
General Ignacia Moreno; and
"Public Safety and Homeland
Security" with Department of
Interior Assistant Secretary
Larry Echo Hawk.
Tom attended the work ses
sion with Moreno where she
heard testimony from Alaskan
Native Elders.
"There wasn't a lot of time
for all Tribes to discuss their
issues," Tom said. 'That was
one of the most moving tes
timonies I have ever heard.
After listening to them, I felt
like I didn't have anything
to complain about. ... Their
stories were just so moving
about their infrastructure up
on Alaska. Some of them said
they get $1,200 a year to live
on and there's nothing there
but their villages."
In his closing remarks, Sala
zar said that the large number
of Cabinet secretaries and
other senior administration of
ficials attending the second Summit
is "not something that President
Obama does because he thinks
he has to do it," but something he
does because he wants to start a
"whole new chapter" of working
with Tribal leaders.
Salazar added that the Summit
"is just a step in a long, continuing
work."
"You don't undo 400 years of his
tory in 19 months," Salazar said.
Also while in Washington, D.C.,
Kennedy attended the first meeting
of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services' Tribal Advi
sory Committee on Dec. 13-14.
'Those were two jam-filled days,"
Kennedy said, adding that the ex
perience was "invigorating."
Kennedy, who has 30 years of
Indian health care expertise, was
appointed to the committee on Dec.
6 by Health and Human Services
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and
is one of 17 primary Tribal repre
sentatives picked to provide advice
on Health and Human Services
programs, including the Indian
Health Service.
Kennedy informed Tribal Council
on Dec. 21 that her primary role
will be to notify the 43 Northwest
ern Tribes of actions taken by the
Tribal Advisory Committee.
.Also while in Washington, D.C.,
Kennedy and Tom visited Ore
gon's congressional delegation on
Wednesday, Dec. 15, meeting with
U.S. Reps. David Wu and Kurt
Schrader and staff members from
the offices of Senators Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkley.
"It was a great meeting in regards
to getting to see some of our politi
cal people there," Tom said. B