{"id":30053,"date":"2022-12-08T20:18:30","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T01:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=30053"},"modified":"2022-12-08T20:33:34","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T01:33:34","slug":"national-congress-of-american-indians-puts-prized-property-on-the-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/12\/08\/national-congress-of-american-indians-puts-prized-property-on-the-market\/","title":{"rendered":"National Congress of American Indians puts prized property on the market"},"content":{"rendered":" \"National<\/a>
A “For Sale” sign is seen on the Embassy of Tribal Nations, the headquarters of the National Congress of American Indians, in Washington, D.C. Courtesy photo<\/figcaption>\r\n
National Congress of American Indians puts prized property on the market<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, December 8, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — The Embassy of Tribal Nations, the home of the National Congress of American Indians<\/a>, is on the market.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nA real estate listing<\/a> describes the NCAI premises, located at 1516 P Street in the nation’s capital, as an “office for sale.” And a sign on the building<\/a> boasts of an “Elegant Embassy Style Property with Parking.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe asking price is not provided on the listing, which is being handled by James Connelly of\r\nSummit Commercial Real Estate. His company profile<\/a> shows he has handled sales for a number of “diplomatic clients” — another sign that the NCAI property is being marketed as a well-situated space for an embassy in Washington, D.C.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n \"Embassy<\/a>

The Embassy of Tribal Nations, home to the National Congress of American Indians, is located at 1516 P Street NW in Washington, D.C. The property consists of three adjoining buildings visible on P Street, along with a parking lot and a separate building in the rear of the premises. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nIn fact, the location of the property, in an area of D.C. known for numerous diplomatic denizens, was a major selling point when NCAI asked Indian Country to support<\/a> — and fund — what would later become the Embassy of Tribal Nations. The building opened in 2009<\/a> and had housed the organization’s staff, along with other non-profit tenants, since then.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nSo news that NCAI’s headquarters is on the market has been met with stunned reactions.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n “What a step back,” one well-connected tribal advocate said on Thursday. “That\u2019s awful.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“Yeah. Sad,” another Indian Country figure in the nation’s capital observed.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut another prominent person in D.C. suggested NCAI now has a chance to find a more suitable property to call home. With its multiple stories and staircases, the primary building at the P Street complex has long been out of reach for disabled Native people and those with mobility issues due to the lack of ramps, lifts and elevators.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“They need to find a place where people can meet — and an elevator for the handicapped and elderly,” the tribal advocate told Indianz.Com.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\"Embassy<\/a>

The Embassy of Tribal Nations consists of three buildings on P Street NW: 1514, 1516 and 1518. Additionally, the property includes a parking lot and a building in the rear, not seen on this map from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue website.<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nNCAI, which is the largest inter-tribal advocacy organization in the United States, did not return a request for comment about the status of the Embassy of Tribal Nations. An inquiry was sent via email in the early afternoon. A couple of hours later, NCAI sent out a press release<\/a>, jointly issued with the Native American Rights Fund<\/a> and the National Native American Bar Association<\/a>, about a trailblazing Native judge in Michigan<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBut the potential sale of the property comes at time of considerable change for an organization founded in 1944 as a means to defend tribes and their sovereignty. NCAI is being sued for $5 million by its former chief executive, Dante Desiderio, for alleged workplace discrimination. A long-awaited initial hearing is taking place in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia<\/a> on Friday, December 16.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe monetary figure claimed by Desiderio, who was ousted from his job in August, after being placed on leave two months prior, incidentally is about half of the assessed value of the Embassy of Tribal Nations. According to the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue<\/a>, the property at 1516 P Street is worth more than $10.3 million.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe NCAI headquarters, which is classified as a commercial property, has risen in value over the years, according to the office. It was purchased for nearly $7.6 million in May 2009, records available online<\/a> show.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tNational Congress of American Indians returns to tradition with announcement of new executive\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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The largest inter-tribal advocacy organization in the United States is forging ahead with a new executive as tribes continue to confront challenges to their sovereignty.<\/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\nBut with NCAI in transition, tribal advocates are speculating that the building no longer serves the needs of the organization. The recently hired executive director Larry Wright Jr.<\/a>, a former chairman of the Ponca Tribe<\/a>, does not maintain a residence in the nation’s capital, so he is not in the Embassy on a permanent basis — an arrangement that has raised eyebrows among some in Indian Country.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n “The Washington telegram tells me that you’re not going to move to Washington, D.C.,” Rachel Joseph, a former chairwoman of the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe<\/a>, told Wright during the recent National Tribal Health Conference.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“I’m here to say: ‘How can we effectively advocate for tribal government if you’re not going to be in D.C.?'” Joseph said at the event, hosted by the National Indian Health Board<\/a> in the last week of September.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n “Please tell me Washington telegram has a disconnect,” pleaded Joseph, who is seen by many as bringing “Auntie” guidance and wisdom to tribal affairs. “Are you gonna be here or not?”\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“I don’t live here but I’m here anytime I need to be,” responded Wright, who lives in Nebraska, on the homelands of the Ponca people.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAn Indian Country insider agreed with Joseph’s insistence on NCAI’s top staffer maintaining a permanent presence in the nation’s capital. “He has to be ready to go to the White House and Capitol Hill at anytime — moments notice,” said the person, who resides in D.C. and has worked closely with every major inter-tribal organization.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n \"Larry<\/a>

Larry Wright Jr., executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, is seen outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on November 9, 2022. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut it’s not just Wright who isn’t utilizing NCAI’s headquarters on a regular basis. The Embassy itself has been closed to most visitors since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> nearly three years ago. Many employees began working on a remote basis as a result.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAnd during the time in which Desiderio served as chief executive officer, NCAI’s workforce underwent changes of its own. About half of the organization’s positions experienced turnover between May 2021 and June 2022, accounting for about one employee every month under his tenure.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nSince Desiderio’s suspension and eventual exit, NCAI has continued to see an exodus of talent — so much that the staff page at ncai.org\/staff<\/a> was taken down months ago. Historically, the organization has employed about 38 people.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“Last I heard, they had about 10 people working there,” said a tribal advocate who once worked closely with NCAI. \r\n

<\/P>\r\n \"Fawn<\/a>

National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp is seen outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on November 9, 2022. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nNCAI President Fawn Sharp<\/a>, who is serving her second term in office<\/a>, has sought to address concerns about the management and direction being provided by the organization’s executive board<\/a>. During the Sovereignty Run<\/a>, for example, she met with tribal leaders with the hopes of answering their questions about the litigation with Desiderio, along with other issues.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“To date, little information has been shared with member tribes of the potential financial impact of litigation between the former Chief Executive Officer and NCAI,” President Martin Harvier of the \r\nSalt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community<\/a> said in a September 23 letter<\/a> to Sharp.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“As the SRPMIC is evaluating its membership for the coming year, I would like assurances from NCAI that no tribal membership dues have been, or will be, used for any costs related to the litigation,” said Harvier. His tribe, based in Arizona, met with Sharp during NCAI\u2019s 1,787-mile relay run from Oklahoma to California in October.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“More generally, the SRPMIC believe it is important for NCAI to be more transparent with member tribes about the financial stability of the organization, provide a comprehensive plan for the long- term health of the organization, and to provide a better strategy for representing and advocating the interests of all member tribes,” asserted Harvier. \r\n

<\/p>\r\n

#NCAI<\/a>#StopDisenrollment<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/jRGoipl8Um<\/a><\/p>— Cam Foreman (@CForeman31) October 31, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>