{"id":29009,"date":"2022-10-20T13:11:22","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T17:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=29009"},"modified":"2022-10-20T13:13:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T17:13:54","slug":"lawsuit-against-national-congress-of-american-indians-set-for-first-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/10\/20\/lawsuit-against-national-congress-of-american-indians-set-for-first-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawsuit against National Congress of American Indians set for first hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Dante<\/a>
Dante Desiderio, then serving as Chief Executive Officer of the National Congress of American Indians, appears before a roundtable of the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth in Washington, D.C., on April 7, 2022. Photo: FairGrowthCmte<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Lawsuit against National Congress of American Indians set for first hearing<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, October 20, 2022<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nA lawsuit against the National Congress of American Indians<\/a> is finally getting its first hearing, some six months after it was filed.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nDante Desiderio filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia<\/a> on June 24 after being suspended as chief executive officer of NCAI earlier in the month. He is accusing his former employer of “race-based” discrimination<\/a> in connection with his placement of two non-Indians in high-ranking positions at the nation’s largest inter-tribal advocacy organization.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nNCAI attempted to remove the case to the federal system — a request that was eventually denied. Due to the potential transfer, the Superior Court canceled an initial scheduling conference that was supposed to take place in late September, leaving the legal dispute on hold temporarily.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut with the case back in the D.C. court system<\/a>, a status hearing is now scheduled for December 16. The case is being heard by Judge Juliet J. McKenna, who had originally been assigned to the lawsuit back in June.\r\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Lawsuit\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tLawsuit from former executive at National Congress of American Indians sent back to D.C. court\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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A lawsuit filed by the former chief executive officer of the National Congress of American Indians will proceed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n Desiderio served as CEO of NCAI for only about a year before he was placed on temporary administrative leave on June 10<\/a>. The reasons for the decision were not disclosed by the organization<\/a> at the time.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn his complaint, however, Desiderio alleges that his suspension was tied to a sexual harassment investigation into one of the non-Indians he brought on board<\/a> at NCAI.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAccording to the D.C. Superior Court docket, NCAI was served with the lawsuit on August 12. Later in the day, the organization announced it had “parted ways” with Desiderio<\/a>.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nA month later, NCAI announced Larry Wright Jr., a former chairman of the Ponca Tribe<\/a>, as the successor to Desiderio. The organization returned to the use of the “Executive Director” title<\/a>, as had long been custom since its founding in 1944.\r\n

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