The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a confirmation hearing this Thursday for Lillian Sparks as Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Sparks, who is Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux, is an attorney who has served as executive director of the National Indian Education Association since 2004. She also worked for the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Gaming Commission.

The ANA provides financial assistance, training, and technical assistance to tribes, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. It currently oversees grants for the Esther Martinez Native Language program.

Along with the confirmation hearing, the committee also will hold a hearing on unemployment in Indian Country.

Committee Notice:
NOMINATION HEARING on the nomination of Lillian A. Sparks to be Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services (January 28, 2010)
OVERSIGHT HEARING on “Unemployment on Indian Reservations at 50%: The Urgent Need to Create Jobs in Indian Country” (January 28, 2010)

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