Trump Moves to Fill Critical Indian Affairs Posts

While many tribal leaders met in Milwaukee, WI at the National Congress of American Indians’ 74th Annual Convention, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced the nomination of Tara Sweeney to the position of Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. Sweeney stands as the first Alaska Native female to ever be nominated for the chief Indian Affairs post and, should she be confirmed by the Senate, would only be the second ever woman to hold the position.

Regarding her nomination, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said, “Tara is a results-driven team leader and coalition builder who has an impressive combination of business acumen and service to her community. Her lifelong active engagement in Native American policy development and her outreach, advocacy, and organization skills are the combination we need to carry out the President’s reform initiative for Indian Country. I look forward to welcoming her to our leadership team.”

Sweeney currently serves as the Executive Vice President of External Affairs for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and was formerly the chair of the Arctic Economic Council and co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives. If confirmed, she will replace John Tahsuda, a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma filling in as Acting Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs.

On the same day that Sweeney was nominated, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announced that Cherokee Nation citizen Bryan Rice would join the administration as the next Director of the BIA. Rice moves over to the BIA leadership team from the Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire.

Sweeney and Rice join Tahsuda and Gavin Clarkson as key tribal voices in the Trump Administration. The group will face many challenges early in their tenures, including millions of dollars worth of potential budget cuts to tribal programs like health and education and threats to tribal sovereignty from fellow government agencies.