Indianz.Com > News > Secretary Yellen delivers remarks on first visit to Indian Country
Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen During Visit to Rosebud Indian Reservation
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Indianz.Com
The following are remarks as prepared for delivered by Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen during a visit to the Rosebud Reservation, home of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, in South Dakota on June 21, 2022. The text was provided by the Department of the Treasury.
Thank you very much for that introduction. And President [Scott] Herman, thank you for your generosity and hospitality.
It’s great to be here. This is my first visit to Indian Country, and it’s meaningful to me to see first-hand the beauty of the Rosebud Reservation and to hear about your Tribe’s rich heritage. It’s also been illuminating to listen to you discuss the deep challenges that you and Tribal nations around the country face, and hear your thoughts on how we can partner together to accelerate the economic recovery for all Tribal citizens.
I’ve spent my entire career thinking about economic policy and how it can help people during hard times and create longer-term opportunities. I see a great deal that policies can do to support Tribal communities. Tribes are the backbone of local communities, and Tribal governments are often the largest employer of their citizens and residents in surrounding areas. Simply put, reservations can be centers of economic opportunity for millions of Tribal and non-Tribal members and they merit deep investment by the federal government and our private sector partners.
Yet, despite the efforts by Tribal governments to develop their economies, significant inequities exist. Many have their roots in prior federal policy. According to the US Commission for Civil Rights’ Broken Promises Report, over 25 percent of Native Americans live in poverty. In certain Tribes, over half of their citizens live in poverty. For Native Americans living on reservations, the unemployment rate is around 50 percent. Those numbers are unacceptably high.
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