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Investing in the Future of Tribal Nations

Summary: 
The White House released its 2014 White House Tribal Nations Conference Progress Report, Investing in the Future of Tribal Nations. The report highlights the Administration’s progress and accomplishments in Indian Country over the past year.

As part of his commitment to strengthening nation-to-nation relationships with Indian tribes, President Obama hosted his sixth White House Tribal Nations Conference in December 2014. The Conference built on the President’s trip to the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation last summer, where he dedicated efforts to improve opportunities for Native youth and affirmed his promise to work together with tribes on education and economic development in Indian Country.

In addition to hosting the Conference, the White House released its 2014 White House Tribal Nations Conference Progress Report, Investing in the Future of Tribal Nations. The report highlights the Administration’s progress and accomplishments in Indian Country over the past year.

This year’s report features:

  • The announcement of Generation Indigenous (Gen I), a comprehensive initiative designed to address the education, physical and mental health, and social service needs of Native youth
  • New recommendations for reducing and mitigating the impact of violence on Native children from the Department of Justice’s Task Force on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence
  • New actions from the Administration’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, including a new $10 million program to help tribes prepare for the effects of climate change
  • The Administration’s continued efforts to strengthen the sovereignty of tribal nations, including the restoration of over 514,000 acres of land to tribal ownership
  • Increasing tribal control of schools through the comprehensive redesign of the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education

“We’re all one family . . . Your nations have made extraordinary contributions to this country. Your children represent the best of this country and its future. Together, we can make sure that every Native young person is treated like a valuable member not only of your nation, but of the American family.”

Download the report here: Investing in the Future of Tribal Nations

For more information about President Obama’s work in Indian Country, see the White House’s White House Tribal Nations Conference Fact Sheet and the 2014 Native Youth Report.

Jodi Gillette is the Special Assistant for Native American Affairs at the White House Domestic Policy Council.