In a recent article in Indian Country Today, NAFSA executive director Gary Davis offered his thoughts on California Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who is the new chairman of the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs on the House Natural Resources Committee. Davis said that LaMalfa is “off to a good start and taking the right steps to ensure his subcommittee addresses the critical issues facing our communities.”
Davis also said:
Indians who have appeared before the current Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs, have had positive things to say about LaMalfa’s leadership there.
Gary Davis, executive director of the Native American Financial Services Association (NAFSA), said the organization has been encouraged by LaMalfa’s willingness to meet with stakeholders and learn about issues affecting Indian country at large, including tribes and tribal entities’ involvement in the financial services sector.
“Our hope for Chairman LaMalfa is that he does everything in his power to elevate the importance of sovereignty across Indian country—from resource development on tribal lands to how tribes fit into the 21st Century digital economy,” said Davis, who personally met with LaMalfa in late February.
The article takes a deeper look at some of the key issues surrounding tribal sovereignty in the current Congress, and specifically the House Natural Resources Committee. We encourage you to read the full article, which can be found here.
