TEDNA

An excerpt:

Today, the White House will bring together tribal leaders from federally recognized tribes to participate in the 7th Annual White House Tribal Nations Conference. The President and members of his Cabinet will discuss issues of importance to tribal leaders, with an emphasis on ways the Administration can continue to make progress on improving the nation-to-nation relationship and ensure these gains continue in future Administrations. In addition, 24 youth delegates will participate in the Conference to share their unique perspective.

The White House Tribal Nations Conference builds on the President’s travel this year to Alaska and the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. During his recent visit to Alaska, the President met with tribal and community leaders in Anchorage to discuss ways tostrengthen cooperation between the federal government and Alaska Native tribes, and announced the restoration of the Koyukon Athabascan name of Denali to the tallest mountain in North America, previously known as Mt. McKinley. The President also visited tribal communities in Dillingham and Kotzebue, where he announced new investments to combat climate change and assist remote tribal communities.

In July, the President traveled to the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma where he launchedConnectHome, an initiative designed to make high-speed Internet more affordable to residents in low-income housing units across the country.

Under the President’s leadership, his Administration committed to improving coordination across the federal government to promote strategic and efficient programming for Indian Country. Through the White House Council on Native American Affairs, the Administration is reinforcing the message that the federal trust responsibility is held by the entire federal government. With this all-of-government approach, the Administration is developing cross-agency partnerships to promote information sharing and better leverage existing programs to promote meaningful outcomes for Indian Country.

Throughout the year, Native youth remained at the forefront of the Administration’s effort to fulfill our promises to tribal nations. The launch of the Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative last December is a recognition that tribal communities thrive when their youth are safe and healthy, have access to a quality education, housing, and meaningful job opportunities, and can learn their native languages and cultures. In July, the White House hosted the first-ever Tribal Youth Gathering, bringing together over 1,000 Native youth representing 230 tribes from 42 states to engage with the Administration on these issues.

To read the entire press release, click here.