The first-ever Tribal Homeland Security Advisory Council has 15 members who will give advice on homeland security policies and practices affecting Indian Country.
Appointment of the 15 members was announced on Dec. 1 as part of the White House Tribal Nations Summit, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press release said. The council, which represents over 564,000 registered tribal members, 178 villages and village corporations, will advise on emergency management, cybersecurity, law enforcement, border security, domestic terrorism and targeted violence.
Council members will include Chair Peter Yucupicio, who is chairman of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe which has a reservation southwest of Tucson, Ariz.; and Vice Chair Kimberly Hampton, who is a member of the board of directors, Unit 4, of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“I am deeply proud to appoint the inaugural members of the Tribal Homeland Security Advisory Council, and I applaud their commitment to help build and strengthen the integral partnership between indigenous communities and our Department of Homeland Security,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the release. “Importantly, their counsel will better enable our Department to uphold its responsibilities to Tribal Nations, as we work hand-in-hand to address key areas of the homeland security mission relating to Indian Country.”
Mayorkas will convene the council’s first meeting early next year.
