{"id":461216,"date":"2026-03-23T15:44:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T20:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=461216"},"modified":"2026-03-23T15:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T20:46:14","slug":"nafoa-5-things-you-need-to-know-this-week-march-23-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/03\/23\/nafoa-5-things-you-need-to-know-this-week-march-23-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know This Week (March 23, 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Amy<\/a>
NAFOA Board Treasurer Amy Minniear, who also serves as Tribal Treasurer of the Pechanga Band of Indians, testified before the House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee during the FY27 American Indian and Alaska Native public witness hearings. Photo courtesy NAFOA<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
5 Things You Need to Know This Week (March 23, 2026)<\/div>\r\n
‘The greatest caretaker for our governments’ -\u2014 NAFOA Treasurer Amy Minniear<\/div>\r\n
Monday, March 23, 2026<\/div>\r\n
Source: NAFOA<\/div>\r\n
nafoa.org<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

1. POLICY ALERT<\/em><\/div>\r\n
Highlights From NAFOA Testimony, American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearings<\/div>\r\nOn March 18th, NAFOA Board Treasurer Amy Minniear (Pechanga Band of Indians) testified before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for their Fiscal Year 2027 American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Days. NAFOA\u2019s testimony focused on key policy priorities that strengthen Tribal economies and uphold federal treaty and trust obligations.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nIn her testimony, NAFOA Treasurer Amy Minniear highlighted the importance of investing in Tribal nations: \r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThe evidence is clear: when Tribal Nations have the policy tools, capital access, and institutional support to develop their economies, their communities thrive \u2014 and so does the national economy. Honoring Tribal sovereignty and investing in Tribal economic development is not charity. It is responsible governance.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nContinue Reading the Policy Alert<\/a>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

2. ADVOCACY<\/em><\/div>\r\n
NAFOA, 17 Partner Native Organizations Release New Economic Policy Brief for Congress<\/div>\r\nNAFOA and 17 endorsing Native organization partners co-released a joint brief presenting nine key legislative priorities and 15 FY 2027 appropriations requests to inform and drive the work of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in support of Indian Country economic development during the Second Session of the 119th Congress. The brief is intended to work in tandem with a similar document presented to the Trump Administration last month, outlining steps the Executive Branch can take to support economic development in Tribal communities.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe brief, titled \u201cTribal Economic Development: Indian Country\u2019s Policy and Funding Priorities for Congress,\u201d uplifts various bills that are being actively deliberated by Congress, enjoy bipartisan support, and could pass by the end of the year. It also calls for increased or level funding for key federal programs and offices that will enhance and grow the U.S. government\u2019s support of Tribal Nations as they build and sustain vibrant economies that benefit not just Native people, but all Americans. The brief serves as an abbreviated update to the policy brief the endorsing Native organizations provided to the incoming 119th Congress in late 2024.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nSource: Native CDFI Network\r\nRead the Policy Brief<\/a>\r\n\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

3. CONFERENCE<\/em><\/div>\r\n
Session Spotlight: AI Data Centers: Economic Empowerment or the Next Extractive Industry?<\/div>\r\nWith the rise of AI, Tribal Nations face new decisions regarding the benefits, risks, and infrastructure required for data centers on their land. During the General Session on Tuesday, April 28th, panelists will discuss key considerations for evaluating proposals for market timing and sustainability, helping leaders safeguard long-term stability over a speculative bubble.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nView the Agenda<\/a>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nRegister for the Conference<\/a>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

4. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT<\/em><\/div>\r\n
In-Person Introductory Tribal Finance and Accounting Certificate<\/div>\r\nProgram Dates: May 19-22, 2026\r\nCost: $1,850 NAFOA Member Tribes and $2,000 nonmembers\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThis four-day cohort program provides the opportunity to connect with other Tribal peers while gaining knowledge and experience to help become a more effective tribal finance\/accounting professional and leader. You will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from other tribal finance\/accounting professionals throughout the state and across the country.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nRegistration includes digital instruction, materials, certificates, and one copy of “Financial Reporting and Information Guide for Tribal Governments and Enterprises (Orange Book)” as published by NAFOA.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nLearn More and Register<\/a>\r\n\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

5. JOB<\/em><\/div>\r\n
Deputy Financial Officer, Absentee Shawnee Tribe Health System<\/div>\r\nThis position supports the Financial Officer and acts as the Deputy Director for the Finance\/Business Office in absence of Financial Officer; employee produces rich, in-depth content for analyzing the implications of AST Health Programs financial actions on day\u2019 to day business operations. This role\u2019s primary responsibility will be to research, analyze, gather quantitative data, and build high-level budget and financial analysis to assess the impact of potential outcomes.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nLearn More & Apply at nafoa.org\/jobs<\/a>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“When Tribal Nations have the policy tools, capital access, and institutional support to develop their economies, their communities thrive \u2014 and so does the national economy,” NAFOA Treasurer Amy Minniear told Congress.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":461218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,19,1,14,22],"tags":[5366,2366,4805,7294,214,4804,346,71,121,6909,48,138,36,521,127,91],"class_list":["post-461216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-health","category-national","category-politics","category-technology","tag-119th","tag-absentee-shawnee","tag-ai","tag-amy-minniear","tag-appropriations","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-dc","tag-economic-development","tag-employment","tag-fy2027","tag-house","tag-meetings","tag-nafoa","tag-nevada","tag-oklahoma","tag-senate","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-1VYY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/23\/AmyMinniearNAFOA.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461216"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":461221,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461216\/revisions\/461221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}