In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is an overview of other released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country during the past week.
Interior Department to Host Tribal Consultations on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The Department of the Interior announced on Tuesday that it would begin nation-to-nation consultations with tribes as it implements the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The law invests more than $13 billion directly in tribal communities across the country to bolster community resilience, replace aging infrastructure, expand access to clean drinking water and help ensure that everyone has access to high-speed internet.
Want more Native News? Get the free daily newsletter today.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is an unprecedented investment in Indian Country that will ensure that future generations have clean air, drinkable water, fertile soil and an overall quality of life that is currently threatened by the worsening climate crisis,” Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) said “Tribal leaders know best the needs of their people. It is critical that Tribes continue to be at the decision-making table as we implement this historic opportunity.”
“The funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is central to the Biden-Harris Administration’s all-of-government approach to strengthening Indian Country,” Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community) said. “I look forward to these conversations providing a roadmap as the Department begins implementing the law.”
The Interior Department invites tibes to offer input and provide feedback to help inform early planning decisions related to the various programs and initiatives outlined in the law.
These sessions will focus on the implementation of:
- Tribal Climate Resilience programs;
- Water infrastructure and drought resilience programs;
- Indian water right settlement investments;
- Wildfire resilience programs;
- Ecosystem restoration programs;
- Legacy pollution programs; and
- U.S. Geological Survey infrastructure law programs.
The consultations will take place Jan. 26-28 and are closed to the public. Tribes are also invited to submit written comments to [email protected] by Feb. 4, 2022.
Indian Health Service (IHS) Update:
A message from the IHS Chief Medical Officer on Omicron and gathering during the holidays: This past week, President Biden announced new actions to protect the country and help communities and hospitals battle Omicron, building on the robust plan he announced earlier this month to get people maximum protection ahead of the winter and prepare for rising cases driven by the new variant. We must all continue to stress how critical it is to be vaccinated and to get booster shots before gathering with our family and friends over the holidays.
The recent emergence of the Omicron variant has further emphasized the importance of primary vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts to protect against COVID-19. These are important because we know that COVID has disproportionately impacted the American Indian and Alaska Native population.
Jackson S. Brossy Named Assistant Administrator of SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs
Jackson S. Brossy has been selected to serve as the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Native American Affairs, at the U.S. Small Business Administration. In this role, Brossy serves as a senior executive providing executive oversight, management, leadership, and championship of Native American entrepreneurship.
Before SBA, Mr. Brossy served as executive director for both the Native CDFI Network and the Navajo Nation Washington Office, the official intergovernmental affairs office for the largest tribe in the nation. An advocate of access to capital and technical assistance for Native entrepreneurs, Mr. Brossy also serves on the board of Prosperity Now, Change Labs, and the Federal Reserve Bank’s Center for the Indian Country Development Leadership Council.
He is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and attended Stanford University and Harvard University.
More Stories Like This
Biden Nominates Salish & Kootenai Tribal Attorney Danna Jackson for Federal BenchA Conversation With Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan: What We Can Celebrate Around the State
Return to the Heart Foundation Gives 44 Micro-Grants to Native Women Leaders
Indigenous Journalists Association President Addresses Members of the UNPFII
Inter-Tribal Council Passes Resolution Urging FCC to Establish Specific Event Code for Missing and Endangered Persons
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
