The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Jan. 18 that the White House Council on Native American Affairs, or WHCNAA, will hold an engagement session Jan. 31 with tribal leaders.
“Whether addressing public safety in Indian Country or the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, tribal leaders and government officials will work together to invest in the nation-to-nation relationship,” tweeted DOI Secretary Deb Haaland.
During this virtual session, tribal leaders will have the opportunity to voice their perspectives on the WHCNAA Committees’ all-of-government efforts, a DOI release stated.
“The White House Council on Native American Affairs is an important tool in the Biden-Harris administration’s all-of-government approach to strengthening Indian Country,” Haaland said in the release.
Haaland also said, “As we work to tackle public safety and criminal justice issues impacting Indigenous people or the implementation of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I’m proud to bring tribal leaders and government officials together to further invest in our trust relationship.”
The White House Council on Native American Affairs was established to improve the coordination of federal programs and the use of federal resources for the benefit of tribal communities. A big focus of the office is to ensure that tribal consultations are consistent and regular, according to the council's website.
Haaland, who co-chairs the WHCNAA, will ask tribal leaders in the Jan. 31 meeting to advise the council on how each Nation wants to spend the $13 billion set aside in the bipartisan bill to improve roads, expand broadband access, fund sanitation, water rights, and environmental reclamation projects, according to the release.
The Jan. 31 session will also focus on President Joe Biden’s executive order on Improving public safety and criminal justice for Native Americans and addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people, the release stated.
Within the first 100 days of the Biden-Harris administration, Haaland created a new Missing and Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services to pursue justice for missing or murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The DOI is committed to working with Tribal governments, law enforcement agencies, survivors, families of the missing, and all communities impacted to coordinate interagency collaboration to address this crisis, the department stated in the release.
