Indianz.Com > News > Senate committee set to advance Bryan Newland as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
Senate committee set to advance Bryan Newland as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Indianz.Com
Note: The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs did not meet as scheduled due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to the Capitol Hill staff. The committee, however, was still able to advance the nomination of Bryan Newland to be Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. The legislative hearing will take place July 21.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nomination of Bryan Newland to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is slowly moving forward in the U.S. Senate.
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is meeting on Wednesday afternoon to advance Newland’s nomination. The action comes a little over a month after the former president of the Bay Mills Indian Community testified about his priorities in the Joe Biden administration.
“We must help Indian Country build back better after the pandemic,” Newland stated in his written testimony. “We must also respond with urgency to the violence against Indigenous women and children. And we must lay the foundation for the next generation of Native children to succeed.”
“I believe that tribal governments, rather than federal agencies, are best-suited to respond to the challenges their communities face,” said Newland, who currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. “Our job is to be a collaborative trustee and ensure that Indian Country drives our work.”
“With your consent, I will be a leader for these important efforts,” Newland told the committee on June 9..
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs post was established in 1977. It’s a political position at the Department of the Interior, meaning the person who is chosen is selected by the current president of the United States.
At Interior, the Assistant Secretary oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education. The recently-created Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, which is taking over most of the duties of the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, also falls under the position.
If confirmed, Newland would be the 14th person to serve as the Assistant Secretary. All have hailed from federally-recognized tribal nations:
• 1977–1978: Forrest Gerard (Blackfeet Nation)
• 1979–1981: William E. Hallett (Ohkay Owingeh and Navajo Nation)
• 1981–1984: Kenneth L. Smith (Warm Springs Tribes)
• 1985–1989: Ross Swimmer (Cherokee Nation)
• 1989–1993: Eddie Frank Brown (Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation)
• 1993–1997: Ada E. Deer (Menominee Nation)
• 1997–2001: Kevin Gover (Pawnee Nation)
• 2001–2003: Neal A. McCaleb (Chickasaw Nation)
• 2004–2005: Dave Anderson (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and Choctaw Nation)
• 2007–2008: Carl J. Artman (Oneida Nation)
• 2009–2012: Larry Echo Hawk (Pawnee Nation)
• 2012–2015: Kevin K. Washburn (Chickasaw Nation)
• 2018-2021: Tara “Katuk” Mac Lean Sweeney (Native Village of Barrow Traditional Iñupiat Government and Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope)
• 1979–1981: William E. Hallett (Ohkay Owingeh and Navajo Nation)
• 1981–1984: Kenneth L. Smith (Warm Springs Tribes)
• 1985–1989: Ross Swimmer (Cherokee Nation)
• 1989–1993: Eddie Frank Brown (Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation)
• 1993–1997: Ada E. Deer (Menominee Nation)
• 1997–2001: Kevin Gover (Pawnee Nation)
• 2001–2003: Neal A. McCaleb (Chickasaw Nation)
• 2004–2005: Dave Anderson (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and Choctaw Nation)
• 2007–2008: Carl J. Artman (Oneida Nation)
• 2009–2012: Larry Echo Hawk (Pawnee Nation)
• 2012–2015: Kevin K. Washburn (Chickasaw Nation)
• 2018-2021: Tara “Katuk” Mac Lean Sweeney (Native Village of Barrow Traditional Iñupiat Government and Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope)
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice
Business Meeting to consider Bryan Todd Newland to be Assistant Secretary & Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on S. 1797, S. 1895 & H.R. 1688 (July 14, 2021)
Related Stories
Nomination hearing to consider Bryan Newland to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs (June 9, 2021)Opening Statement of Bryan Newland to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs (June 9, 2021)
Assistant Secretary nominee Bryan Newland vows to ‘build back better’ after COVID-19 (June 9, 2021)
Secretary Haaland leads Interior to a more tribal friendly future (April 27, 2021)
United South and Eastern Tribes welcome Biden administration homelands policy (April 27, 2021)
Interior: Secretary Deb Haaland takes action for tribal homelands (April 27, 2021)
Bay Mills Indian Community ‘proud’ of Bryan Newland’s nomination in Biden administration (April 23, 2021)
United South and Eastern Tribes praise nomination of Bryan Newland (April 23, 2021)
Midwest tribes hail nomination of Bryan Newland as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs (April 23, 2021)
Leaders of Navajo Nation congratulate Assistant Secretary nominee Bryan Newland (April 23, 2021)
‘Hit the ground running’: Secretary Haaland engages with Native media on first day in office (March 17, 2021)
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