The United States public policy agenda on issues affecting Native Americans under the Obama administration includes the signing of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, which allowed tribal courts to extend and expand sentences handed down to them in criminal cases, strengthening tribal autonomy. President Obama also supported and enforced the Executive Order 13175, which requires the federal government to consult with tribal governments when deliberating over policies and programs that would affect tribal communities. Under the Obama Administration was also the launching of Michelle Obama's program Let's Move In Indian Country, which aims to improve opportunities for physical activity, to increase access to healthy food in tribal communities, and to create collaborations between private and public sectors to build programs that will end childhood obesity in Native communities. Obama also supported tribal communities through certain provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which allocated $510 million for rehabilitation of Native American housing, and the settlement of the Keepseagle case, a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture for discriminating against tribal communities by not allowing them equal access to the USDA Farm Loan Program. Most recently, Obama signed Executive Order 13592, which seeks to improve educational opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Natives. Obama has been praised by many tribal leaders, including those who claim he has done more for Native Americans than all of his predecessors combined.
Background
Many Native American peoples struggle to trust federal governments at all; as Tex "Red Tipped Arrow" Hall, tribal chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota said, "our fathers and grandfathers and great grandfathers have gone to Washington, and there's been no promises made and no promises kept. That's why we’ve not trusted the federal government."
Government officials have also acknowledged the negative history between the federal government and tribal communities. In 2000, Kevin Gover publicly apologized for the actions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, recognizing the traumatic impact that the department has historically caused for tribal communities, through policies including but not limited to extermination, relocation, and assimilation.
Obama has also personally acknowledged the history of violence, and during meetings with leaders from federally recognized tribes in 2009 he stated, "We know the history that we share. It's a history marked by violence and disease and deprivation. Treaties were violated. Promises were broken. You were told your lands, your religion, your cultures, your languages were not yours to keep."
Public statements on Native American issues Obama re-affirmed his commitment to government-to-government relations through his December 2, 2011 visits to reservations and meetings with tribal leaders during the signing of the Presidential Memorandum for the Implementation of Energy Saving Projects and Performance-Based Contracting for Energy Savings. Speaking of the broader progress under his administration, Obama stated, "I believe that one day, we’re going to be able to look back on these years and say that this was a turning point. This was the moment when we began to build a strong middle class in Indian Country; the moment when businesses, large and small, began opening up in reservations; the moment when we stopped repeating the mistakes of the past, and began building a better future together, one that honors old traditions and welcomes every Native American into the American Dream."
During his June 2014 visit with Standing Rock Sioux members, Obama focused on discussions concerning education and economic development and spoke of his personal commitment to improving federal-tribal relations. Obama's trip was one of only three presidential visitations to reservations in the history of the U.S.; before him, Bill Clinton was the last president to visit a reservation, in 1999. Obama later hosted the six Annual Tribal Nations Conferences in Washington D.C. where he spoke with not only Standing Rock members, but leaders that represented a span of the 566 federally recognized tribes.
The White House Tribal Nations Conferences The White House Tribal Nations Conference is an initiative created under the Barack Obama administration that aims to create dialogue between governments, give space for tribal leaders to bring issues that affect tribal communities to the attention of the United States federal government, and to make appropriate recommendations for policies and programs.Shulterbrandt, Elizabeth A., "The 5 W's of the White House Tribal Nations Conferences: 2009–2011" (2012). Scripps Senior Theses. Paper 70. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/70 The conferences were the first official attempt at dialogue since the Clinton administration, who held The Clinton 1994 Tribal Nations Conference.
First conference The first of the conferences was held on November 5, 2009, with 400 tribal leaders in attendance. This initial conference was meant to recreate a channel for dialogue between tribal nations and the United States. The conference focused on broken treaties, economic development, natural resources, public safety, housing, education, and health.
Second conference The Second Annual Tribal Nations Conference was held on December 16, 2010, with 500 attendees present. The conference focused on five major topics: restoring tribal homelands, building safer Native communities, building strong, prosperous tribal economies, fostering healthy communities and developing a structured and meaningful consultation policy. During President Obama's address to the attendees, he emphasized the importance of capacity building across a number of initiatives, including improving tribal economies, increasing job opportunities, creation of clean energy initiatives, and focus on health care and education. Obama said that addressing the health disparities in tribal communities was "not just a question of policy, it's a question of our values; it's a test of who we are as a nation."
Third conference The Third Annual Tribal Nations Conference was held on December 6, 2011. The conference focused on economic development and sovereignty, as well as education, about which Obama commented, "We’re going to find ways to reduce the dropout rate. We’re going to help students who've already dropped out re-enter the education system. And we’re going to strengthen our tribal colleges and universities. They are cornerstones of their community and they deserve our support." It was during this conference that Obama signed Executive Order 13592, "Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Education Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities," which seeks to increase educational opportunities for Native youth through their academic career.
Fourth conference The Fourth Annual Tribal Nations Conference was held on December 5, 2012. The conference highlighted topics including sacred sites, the settlement of the Keepseagle case, and economic development. President Obama's remarks addressed legal debates involving tribal communities, the Tribal Law and Order Act, access to education, clean energy and Indian owned businesses. He recognized the work that was yet to come, saying, "We’ve got to rebuild America's infrastructure -- from roads to high-speed internet -- that will help connect Native communities to other parts of the country and other parts of the world. Congress needs to expand support for Native American small businesses, because when they’re opening new stores or exporting new goods, then they’re creating new jobs."
Fifth conference The Fifth Annual Tribal Nations Conference was held on November 13, 2013. The conference focused on four main areas: justice and tribal sovereignty, increasing economic opportunity, expansion of comprehensive healthcare, and protecting native homelands. In addition to these topics, tribal leaders brought their own concerns to the table, including: the sequestration of Indian treaty dollars, the proposed capping of contract support reimbursements to tribes, Indian education, Federal-tribe energy policies, Indian health issues, and the strengthening of consultations.
Sixth conference
The Sixth Annual Tribal Nations Conference was held from December 2, 2014 – December 3, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Leaders from the 566 federally recognized American Indian nations were present, along with the President, members of the cabinet, and the White House Council of Native American Affairs. Together, they spoke of issues pertinent to Native American communities, including protection of natural and cultural resources, tribal sovereignty and autonomy, economic development, and health disparities in Native communities. It was during this conference that Obama announced the launch of Generation Indigenous (Gen I), which aims to responsibly create native youth community projects, and a National Tribal Youth Network, which hopes to support leadership development of indigenous youth. In addition to this, the initiative also included the creation of the Cabinet Native Youth Listening Tour, which creates means for native youth to share their concerns and ideas with federal government leaders, and the implementation of a convention for native youth, called the White House Tribal Youth Gathering, to be held on July 9, 2015.
Education The U.S. Department of Education, under the direction of the Obama Administration, and Obama appointee William Mendoza, as executive director of the White House initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education, has created policies that seek to address disparities in education that affect Native American and American Indian students. These policies include Executive Order 13592 and the launch of pilot program State-Tribal Education Partnerships (STEP).
Executive Order 13592 President Obama signed the Executive order 13592 on December 2, 2011. The executive order, Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities, was part of Obama's larger educational platform which aims to "improve opportunities and outcomes for the nation's students." The initiative was co-chaired by Arne Duncan and Ken Salazar." Obama's appointee, William Mendoza, a Rosebud tribal member, led the charge.
The order aims to push the leadership of the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to the United States Department of Education (DOE), connecting American Indian education initiatives to the resources and expertise of the DOE. The bill seeks to ensure that all American Indian students, despite their institution of choice, have access to support from the federal government. The order authorized the establishment of the Tribal Leaders Task Force and the Federal Interagency Working Group, which aims to create new educational policies to support native youth, and to reform educational policies and programs that affect Native American and American Indian students. Further, the bill pushes for the advancement of American Indian and Alaskan Native early education programs, reform within elementary and secondary schools and higher standards for tribal colleges and universities.