Native Women in the White House, clockwise from left: Karen Diver (Fond du Lac Band), Special Assistant to the President for Native American Affairs; Tracy Goodluck (Oneida / Muscogee), Senior Associate Director of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs; and Gina Jackson (Te-Moak Western Shoshone); Office of Management and Budget. Photo by the White House
President Barack Obama has appointed a record number of Native Americans during his administration and Native women are among those with top positions. For a post on Medium, three Native women share their views about working at the White House. They include Karen Diver (Fond du Lac Band), the Special Assistant to the President for Native American Affairs; Tracy Goodluck (Oneida / Muscogee), who serves as Senior Associate Director of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs; and Gina Jackson (Te-Moak Western Shoshone) of the Office of Management and Budget. "My grandmother and grandfather both worked in service of Native American affairs here in D.C. They met here and my father was born here before they moved out west where I was born," said Goodluck, who spoke at the White House Tribal Nations Conference on Monday. "Being here in D.C., it feels like life has come full circle, to be walking the same hallways, the same streets as my grandparents, and to be serving the public and the Native community with the values they instilled in me," Goodluck said. More comments from Goodluck, Diver and Jackson can be found in the Medium post. Read More on the Story:
Indigenous Peoples: Voices from the White House (Medium 9/26) Additional Coverage of the White House Tribal Nations Conference:
Obama tells Oklahoman's story at final tribal conference (The Oklahoman 9/27)
Tribal leaders give Obama high marks for Native American relations (Cronkite News 9/26)
Obama tells tribal leaders, ‘I hope I’ve done right by you’ (The Washington Post 9/26)
Coolidge got a headdress, and Obama got a hat (The Washington Post 9/26)
With blanket ceremony, American Indians give Obama a warm embrace (USA Today 9/26)
Obama dons hat, blanket during Tribal Nations ceremony (CNN 9/26)
President Obama Dons Ceremonial Hat and Blanket at White House Tribal Nations Conference (Time 9/26)
Obama Honored as ‘Adopted Son’ by American Tribal Nations Leaders (Voice of America 9/26)
Tribes honor President Obama at 8th White House Tribal Summit (KNBA 9/26)
Alaska's Byron Nicholai gets a presidential audience (Alaska Dispatch News 9/26)
Obama defends work on tribal issues (The Hill 9/26)
Mike Williams Sr. Represents Akiak At The 2016 White House Tribal Nations Conference (KYUK 9/26)
Call him Black Eagle: Obama presented with a customized traditional blanket and a hat during Tribal Nations Conference (The Daily Mail 9/26)
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