Cherokee Nation Chief Bill John Baker. Photo from Cherokee Nation
Dozens of tribes and tribal organizations are presenting their funding priorities to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies this week. The testimony will be spread over four sessions on Thursday and Friday. Witnesses include National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye and Cherokee Nation Chief Bill John Baker. All sessions will be webcast, according to the subcommittee. The presentations will help lawmakers decide what goes into the appropriations bill that funds the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, the Indian Health Service, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and other related agencies. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-California), the panel's chairman, and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota), the ranking Democrat, have sought to boost funding levels as much as possible under constraints set by Republican leaders. As part of that effort, the subcommittee will take testimony from top BIA and BIE officials on Wednesday. The hearing also will be webcast. The full list of witnesses for the hearings on Thursday and Friday follows:
Thursday, March 17, 2016 9:00 AMCommittee Notices:
Carolyn Lubenau
Chairwoman
Snoqualmie Tribe
Frances Charles
Chairwoman
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
William B. Iyall
Chairman
Cowlitz Indian Tribe
David Bean
Councilman
Puyallup Tribe of Washington State
Fawn Sharp
President
Quinault Indian Nation
Timothy Ballew II
Chairman
Lummi Nation
Jim Peters
Second Council Member
Squaxin Island Tribe
Orvie Danzuka
Council Member
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
W. Ron Allen
Chairman and CEO
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
W. Ron Allen
Chairman
United States Section of the Pacific Salmon Commission
Joseph Pavel
Vice Chairman
Skokomish Tribe of Washington State
Patrick Luke
Vice Chairman
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Edward Johnstone
Treasurer
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
Phil Rigdon
President
Intertribal Timber Council
Brian Cladoosby
President
National Congress of American Indians
Lloyd B. Miller
Counsel
National Tribal Contract Support Cost Coalition
Ashley Tuomi
President Elect of the Board of Directors
National Council of Urban Indian Health
Lisa Elgin
Secretary
National Indian Health Board
Brandie Miranda-Greany
Vice Chair
Riverside-San Bernardino County Indian Health, Inc.
Mark LeBeau
Chief Executive Officer
California Rural Indian Health Board, Inc.
Esther Lucero
Executive Director
Seattle Indian Health Board
Shaquita Bell
Incoming Chair
American Academy of Pediatrics Thursday, March 17, 2016 1:00 PM
Carrie Billy
President and CEO
American Indian Higher Education Consortium
Lawrence Mirabal
Chief Financial Officer
Institute of American Indian Arts
Leander "Russ" McDonald
President
United Tribes Technical College
Ahniwake Rose
Executive Director
National Indian Education Association
Kerry Venegas
Vice President
Tribal Education Departments National Assembly
Ryan Wilson
President
National Alliance to Save Native Languages
Aurene Martin
Board Member
National Indian Child Welfare Association
Kirk Francis
Chief
Penobscot Indian Nation
William Harris
Chief
Catawba Indian Nation
Roy Cypress
Interim Chairman
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians
Brian Patterson
President
United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund
Audrey Hudson
Mayor
Metlakatla Indian Community
John Lincoln
Chair
Maniilaq Association
Nick Gasca
Deputy General Counsel
Tanana Chiefs Conference
Douglas Eby
Vice President of Medical Services
Southcentral Foundation
Charles Clement
President and CEO
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium
Christopher Bolton
Chief Operation Officer
Norton Sound Health Corporation Friday, March 18, 2016 9:00 AM
Bill John Baker
Chief
Cherokee Nation
Mickey Peercy
Executive Director of Self-Governance
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Sara Smallwood
Director of Public Policy and Promise Zone Coordinator
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Everett Waller
Chairman
Osage Minerals Council
James Floyd
Principal Chief
Muscogee Creek Nation
Vernon Miller
Chairman
Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and Iowa
Victoria Kitcheyan
Treasurer
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
Floyd Azure
Chairman
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation
Myra Pearson
Chairwoman
Spirit Lake Tribe
Cory Spotted Bear
Councilman
Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation
Robert Flying Hawk
Chairman
Yankton Sioux Tribe
Harold C. Frazier
Chairman
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
John Yellow Bird Steele
President
Oglala Sioux Tribe
Ervin Carlson
President
InterTribal Buffalo Council
Carri Jones
Chairwoman
Leech Lake Band of Ojibew
Larry Wawronowicz
Natural Resources Director
Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa
Jessica L. Burger
Tribal Council
Littler River Band of Ottawa Indians
Mic Isham
Chairman
Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
Levi D. Carrick, Sr.
President
Chippewa Ottawa Resources Authoirty
Tom Miller
President
Association of Community Tribal Schools
Sarah A. Cormell
Health Clinic Director
St. Croix Chippewa Tribe of Wisconsin Friday, March 18, 2016 1:00 PM
Robert Miguel
Chairman
Ak-Chin Indian Community
Edward D. Manuel
Chairman
Tohono O'odham Nation
Elbridge Coochise
Chief Justice Retired
Independent Tribal Courts Review Team
Ed Secakuku
Vice Chairman
Ute Tribe of Utah
Lindsey Manning
Chairman
Shoshone Paiute Tribes
Michael Chavarria
Governor
Santa Clara Pueblo
Myron Armijo
Governor
Santa Ana Pueblo
Russell Begaye
President
Navajo Nation
Dr. Tommy Lewis Jr.
Superintendent of Schools
Navajo Nation
Walter Phelps
Chairman
Navajo Hopi Land Commission
Navajo Nation Council Delegate
David Martinez Jr.
President
Ramah Navajo School Board for the Pine Hill School
Faye BlueEyes
Program Director
Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle Community Grant School
Angela Barney Nez
Executive Director
Dine BiOlta School Board Association
Jerry Chavez
Vice President
Association of Navajo Community Controlled School Board, Inc.
Nancy R. Martine-Alonzo
Secretary and Treasurer
Ramah Navajo Chapter
Suzanne Acuna
Board Member
Akimel O'Otham Pee Posh Blackwater Community School
American Indian and Alaska Native Public and Outside Witness Hearing [AM session] (March 17, 2016)
American Indian and Alaska Native Public and Outside Witness Hearing [PM session] (March 17, 2016)
American Indian and Alaska Native Public and Outside Witness Hearing [AM session] (March 18, 2016)
American Indian and Alaska Native Public and Outside Witness Hearing [PM session] (March 18, 2016)
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