The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Bryan Newland Aug. 7 as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs for the Department of the Interior.

The position will require Newland to maintain relations with 574 Native American reservations across the country, each considered its own sovereign nation.

A Native News Online report said President Joe Biden nominated Newland in April to serve as the highest Senate confirmed official in the Interior Department’s Indian Affairs division.

Newland, formerly president of the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan, previously served as principal deputy assistant to the secretary of Indian Affairs, and will serve under Deb Haaland, DOI Secretary.

Haaland is the first person of Native American heritage to serve in a cabinet position.

“The confirmation of Bryan Newland as the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs is an important step forward in strengthening the nation-to-nation relationship between the United States and Tribal Nations, and we congratulate the Assistant Secretary on this achievement,” Haaland said.    

Fawn Sharp, spokeswoman for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), in a statement to Native News said Newland was the right choice for the post. 

More than 40 Native American tribal organizations supported Newland's nomination.