The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which develops and executes the president’s budget, announced it has appointed Elizabeth Carr (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) to the new permanent Tribal Policy Advisor position.
The position was created to advocate for the needs of Indian Country and ensure the office meets priorities for Indigenous communities.
Carr is the former senior advisor to the director of the Indian Health Service. She previoulsy worked as senior Native affairs advisor with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc.
“This position is historic — the first of its kind at OMB, created out of conversations with Tribal leaders — and will be instrumental in coordinating Tribal priorities across OMB’s budgetary, management, and regulatory functions, while working with other key leaders at the White House and across the entire Administration,” Shalanda Young, director of the OMB, said in a statement.
The National Council of Urban Indian Health — a nonprofit supporting the development of culturally competent health services for Native Americans living in urban areas — applauded the news.
“NCUIH looks forward to collaborating with OMB on long-standing issues impacting access to health care for urban Native communities including providing continuity of funding during continuing resolutions and shutdowns, which have needlessly cost Native lives,” Francys Crevier (Algonquin), CEO of The National Council of Urban Indian Health, said in a statement.
The statement added that the National Council of Urban Indian Health and tribal leaders have long advocated for a permanent position dedicated to Indigenous health care within the OMB.
In April 2021, National Indian Health Board Chairman William Smith (Valdez Native Tribe) wrote to the OMB in response to its initiation of tribal consultation with tribal leaders, part of President Biden’s memorandum ensuring his commitment to strengthening nation-to-nation relationships.
“After decades of neglect in this space, the development of an OMB consultation policy is truly an historic first step,” Smith wrote in the letter. “NIHB is encouraged by OMB’s commitment to ‘build Tribal consultation into their DNA.’”
He recommended several ways the office could improve its communication with and service to tribal nations, including: informed tribal-decision making; establishing a tribal advisory committee to provide OMB direct communication with tribal leaders; and moving away from competitive grant funding and towards formula-based funding.
More Stories Like This
California Moves Forward with Pilot MMIP ProgramNative News Weekly (April 14, 2024): D.C. Briefs
Biden Nominates Heather M. Cahoon to Board of Trustees of Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation
Native Bidaské with Lyndsay Amato on the #BraidsforCole Movement
Services to Honor Cole Brings Plenty's Life Commence This Weekend in South Dakota
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.
