{"id":635924,"date":"2026-06-15T10:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T15:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=635924"},"modified":"2026-06-16T15:11:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:11:40","slug":"nafoa-5-things-you-need-to-know-this-week-june-15-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/06\/15\/nafoa-5-things-you-need-to-know-this-week-june-15-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know This Week (June 15, 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe   src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b7c92bN6wUs\" title=\"Legislative Hearing on H.R. 6917, H.R. 8473 and H.R. 8954\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">House Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs: <a href=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/b7c92bN6wUs>Legislative Hearing on H.R.6917, H.R.8473 and H.R.8954<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">5 Things You Need to Know This Week (June 15, 2026)<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">NAFOA\u2019s 2026 programs for young professionals are now open!<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Monday, June 15, 2026<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Source: NAFOA<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nafoa.org\">nafoa.org<\/a><\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\"><em>1. POLICY<\/em><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">NAFOA Testifies on Removing Barriers to Investment and Economic Development on Indian Lands, Urges Congress To Plan An Actionable Response<\/div>\r\nThe House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs convened last week for a legislative hearing on three bills with implications for Indian Country, including H.R. 8954, the Tribal Regulatory Reform Implementation Act of 2026.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe bill, introduced by Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO), makes a targeted but meaningful change by transferring administrative responsibility for the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of 2000 from the Department of Commerce to the Department of the Interior. On the surface, it&#8217;s a targeted administrative fix. In practice, it could finally activate a statutory framework that has sat dormant for a quarter century.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe original law created a 21-member Authority to identify and recommend the removal of federal regulatory barriers to investment and business development in Indian Country, yet officials never convened this Authority. H.R. 8954 is a step toward changing that.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nChairman Rodney Butler of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and President of the NAFOA Board of Directors, testified on behalf of NAFOA and our more than 190 Member Tribes. He framed the bill not as a new initiative, but as an act of accountability:\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;H.R. 8954 does not ask Congress to make a new promise. It asks Congress to keep an old one.&#8221;\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-block\" href=\"https:\/\/nafoa.org\/policy-alert-nafoa-testifies-tribal-regulatory-reform-implementation-recap\/\" role=\"button\">Continue Reading the Policy Alert<\/a>\r\n\r\n <P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\"><em>2. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT<\/em><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Registration is Now Open for the NAFOA Institute&#8217;s Career Basics Program<\/div>\r\nThe NAFOA Institute&#8217;s Career Basics program is a free online course designed specifically for Native American youth and young professionals ages 18-28. You will work through focused learning modules, build a personalized career toolkit, and earn badges along the way.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<storng>Career Basics Program Dates: June 11 &#8211; July 15, 2026<\/strong><BR>\r\nYou can join and complete Career Basics at any point during the program dates.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nWho Should Participate?\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Career Basics is designed to be most helpful for Native American young professionals between the ages of 18-28, and are:<\/li>\r\n<li>Undergraduate students<\/li>\r\n<li>Recent college graduates<\/li>\r\n<li>Early career professionals (0-2 years of experience)<\/li>\r\n<li>Young professionals looking to pivot careers<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nParticipants ages 22-28 who complete the core requirements may be eligible to apply to the NAFOA Leadership Summit. Applications for the 2026 Leadership Summit are due on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Alaska Time.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-block\" href=\"https:\/\/nafoa.institute\/sign-up\" role=\"button\">Register Today<\/a>\r\n\r\n <P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\"><em>3. MUST READ<\/em><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">New General Welfare Rules Create Opportunity to Rethink Tribal Benefits<\/div>\r\nThe Treasury\u2019s final rules on Tribal general welfare benefit programs are a catalyst for rethinking how Tribes design, deliver, and evaluate benefits for citizens.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nEffective January 1, 2027, the rules clarify when benefits can be excluded from taxable income. This creates an opportunity to modernize programs, recalibrate them to community needs, and improve how services are delivered.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nMany Tribal benefit programs, particularly per capita distributions, have historically resulted in taxable income to Tribal members. The new rules reinforce that properly structured general welfare programs can deliver similar or greater impact on a tax-exempt basis.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThat creates a natural inflection point: if you\u2019re going to redesign benefits for tax efficiency, it also makes sense to evaluate whether those programs are meeting the needs of your community\u2014and how effectively they\u2019re being delivered.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nSource: Baker Tilly\r\n<a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-block\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bakertilly.com\/insights\/tribal-general-welfare-rules-and-benefits\" role=\"button\">Continue Reading<\/a>\r\n\r\n <P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\"><em>4. FROM THE NAFOA NAVIGATOR<\/em><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Optimizing Revenue Cycles and Treasury Services for Tribal Health Systems. Expert Strategies to Accelerate Cash, Sharpen Denial Recovery and Put Capital to Work.<\/div>\r\nBy: BOK Financial\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nTribal health systems operate in a complex financial environment where every dollar counts. Leaders who understand this landscape know that speed and accuracy in the revenue cycle are critical. Automating 835 Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) reconciliation isn\u2019t just about efficiency; it\u2019s about freeing coders to focus on denials, reducing rework and giving finance teams same-day visibility into cash positions. With that clarity, organizations can fund operations confidently, invest surplus liquidity and plan capital moves without guesswork.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nWhen cost pressure meets liquidity risk\r\nMargins are tight everywhere, with labor shortages, inflation and reimbursement complexity all weighing heavily on hospitals. Tribal facilities face these challenges plus unique factors such as rural staffing gaps, payer-mix variability across Native and non-Native patients and reliance on Indian Health Service (IHS) funding. In this environment, liquidity isn\u2019t just a metric; it\u2019s a safeguard. Faster, more accurate payment posting means better cash positioning and less dependence on short-term borrowing.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-block\" href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1I6C8_veWDwhF_tvhKb72JU0GUdlRxb1_\/view\" role=\"button\">Download & Read the NAFOA Navigator (pg 74-76)<\/a>\r\n\r\nIf you are experiencing issues with the link, visit nafoa.org\/conference for the direct link to the Navigator.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n \r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\"><em>5. JOB<\/em><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">RFP: Motif and Asset Designer for Branding Support, NAFOA<\/div>\r\nNAFOA is seeking a creative, culturally knowledgeable designer or design firm to develop original visual motifs and branding assets that reflect our organization&#8217;s Native American focus, mission, vision, and values. These assets will support NAFOA&#8217;s brand identity and be used across digital, print, and event platforms.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nAll proposals should be submitted electronically to Bettina Gonzalez, Director of Communications, at bettina@nafoa.org by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on June 26, 2026. The selected proposal will be notified by July 10, 2026.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<a class=\"btn btn-primary btn-block\" href=\"https:\/\/nafoa.org\/job\/rfp-motif-and-asset-designer-for-branding-support\/\" role=\"button\">Learn More & Apply at nafoa.org\/jobs<\/a>\r\n<img src=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/16\/RodneyButler.jpg width=0 height=0 class=invisible>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NAFOA\u2019s 2026 programs for young professionals are now open!","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":635958,"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":[10,18,19,1,14],"tags":[5366,346,71,121,7511,49,48,210,5888,36,3305,499,89,102],"class_list":["post-635924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-education","category-health","category-national","category-politics","tag-119th","tag-dc","tag-economic-development","tag-employment","tag-h-r-8954","tag-hnrc","tag-house","tag-ihs","tag-jeff-hurd","tag-nafoa","tag-rodney-butler","tag-taxation","tag-treasury","tag-youth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/16\/RodneyButler.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-2FqQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635924","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=635924"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":635960,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635924\/revisions\/635960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}