National Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform Off and Running

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Challenges. Discussion »

Dr. Peterson Zah - Navajo

WASHINGTON – The first meeting of the National Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform was held in a two day event held last Thursday and Friday. The Commission listened to two days packed with information on the workings of the US Department of Interior's American Indian trust programs.

The purpose of the two day event was to bring the five recently-named members of the Commission together to begin their work to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of US Department of the Interior's management and administration of the nearly $4 billion in trust assets, as well as recommendations for improvement.

Both days the audience was filled with American Indians from various parts of the United States, who were allowed to make comment and ask questions during the meetings.

"So far it has been good. We have spent our time mainly listening to presentations from federal staff,"

said Dr. Peterson Zah, Navajo, a member of Commission on Friday.

“We are charged with the responsibility to evaluate programs. We cannot make good decisions without knowing what is going on.”

National Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform

The Commission will reconvene meeting at various points this year. It is slated to meet in Rapid City, South Dakota on June 11 and 12; Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 13 and 14; and in Seattle, Washington on December 6 and 7. If needed, more meetings are promised.

“I look forward to working with this Commission. This is a very positive thing for Indian Country,”

Stated Mike Black, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The members of the Commission are:

Chair - Fawn R. Sharp, the current president of the Quinault Indian Nation, the current President of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and a former administrative law judge for the State of Washington and Governor of the Washington State Bar Association.
Dr. Peterson Zah, an established leader in American Indian government and education circles, was the last chairman of the Navajo Tribal Council and the first elected President of the Navajo Nation.
Stacy Leeds, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law and former Director of the Tribal Law and Government Center at the University of Kansas School of Law.
Tex G. Hall, current chairman of Three Affiliated Tribes and past President of the National Congress of American Indians, is currently serving as Chairman of the Inter Tribal Economic Alliance and is the Chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Association.
Bob Anderson, an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (Bois Forte Band), has six years of experience working at the Department of the Interior from 1995-2001 as Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs and as counselor to the Secretary of the Interior on Indian law and natural resource issues. He is currently a Professor of Law and Director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington, and holds a long-term appointment as the Oneida Nations Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.

posted March 5, 2012 8:40 am est