The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is inviting tribes to attend a listening session to discuss a reorganization of the agency.

The listening sessions are taking place virtually, on July 16 and July 17. A Dear Tribal Leader Letter was sent out on behalf of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Monday.

“The Secretary understands the vital importance of the Indian health system to the well-being of tribes across the United States,” the two-page letter from Darcie L. Johnston, the Principal Deputy Director of the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affair at HHS, reads. “The current restructuring will help to streamline services, consolidate offices, and better address unmet needs in Indian country. Our Department is committed to prioritizing Indian health and the government-to-government relationship under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership.”

Kennedy announced the reorganization on March 27. Although the press release and fact sheet did not mention Indian Country or the Indian Health Service (IHS), tribes and their advocates have said the changes will impact crucial programs they depend on at other agencies within HHS, such as the elimination of the Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity at the Office of Minority Health and the termination of staff from the Healthy Tribes Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tribal organizations, supported by key members of Congress, have called for formal consultation on the reorganization. HHS, however, is stopping short of that mandate for now.

“Tribal Consultation is not optional — it is a legal mandate grounded in the federal trust responsibility,” the National Indian Health Board said on May 22.

According to the letter, the sessions are taking place from 12-5:30pm Eastern on July 16 and July 17. An agenda has not yet been released.

Tribes can register for one or both of the sessions at zoomgov.com/meeting/register/6JeZupMwTjmpR3ly2Qz9wA.

Written comments are also being accepted through July 18, 2025, according to the letter. They can be sent via email at TribalAffairs@hhs.gov with the subject line of “Tribal Listening Session on the HHS Reorganization.

Comments can be sent by mail to:

Darcie L. Johnston, Principal Deputy Director
Dept. of Health & Human Services
Office of the Secretary, IEA
200 Independence Ave. SW
Mail Stop: 620E.11
Washington, DC 20201

Separately, the IHS has scheduled a series of tribal consultations and urban Indian confer sessions to discuss a proposed realignment of the agency. A Dear Tribal Leader Letter dated June 13 indicates an expansive and broad initiative centered on delivery of patient care, enterprise and operational management and self-determination.

“As we look at the future of the Agency over the next 70 years, we must examine what works well and identify where and how the IHS must improve,” the three-page letter from Benjamin Smith, the acting director of the IHS, reads. “We must be bold in examining ourselves to transform to a more patient-centered, self-governance-driven, operationally efficient, and fiscally sustainable health care system.”

Four in-person sessions are taking place next month. The schedule follows:

Tribal Consultation – Seattle, Washington
Date: Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM PDT
Registration Link: surveymonkey.com/r/WWX62MH
Address: Seattle Airport Marriott
3201 South 176th Street
Seattle, Washington 98188

Tribal Consultation – Phoenix, Arizona
Date: Thursday, July 10, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM MST
Registration Link: surveymonkey.com/r/J8TZHRR
Address: Marriott Phoenix Chandler
1600 South Price Road
Chandler, Arizona 85286

Tribal Consultation – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM CST
Registration Link: surveymonkey.com/r/J836SMF
Address: Hyatt Regency Bloomington – Minneapolis
3200 East 81st Street
Bloomington, MN 55425

Tribal Consultation – Washington, District of Columbia
Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST
Registration Link: surveymonkey.com/r/J86FNWS
Address: Hubert H. Humphrey Building – Hall of Tribal Nations
200 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20201

The confer with urban Indian organization is taking place virtually. Only one session has been scheduled:

Urban Confer – Virtual
Date: Monday, July 28, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST
Registration Link: ihs-gov.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/q6joL7ncQgS1z5tf0xl9vw