President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama with youth from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on June 13, 2014. Photo by Pete Souza / White House
Donna Ennis, a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, hails the passage of S.246, the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act, a new law that will focus more attention on issues facing American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian youth:
On October 14, President Obama signed into law S. 246, the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act, which will create the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native children. The Commission is named in honor of Alyce Spotted Bear, former tribal chairwoman of the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation in North Dakota and Walter Soboleff, Alaskan Native Elder and statesman from the Tlingit tribe in Alaska.In his remarks the President stated: “The Commission is tasked with the important work of undertaking a comprehensive study of Federal, State, and local and tribal programs that serve Native children, and making recommendations on how those programs can be improved. Over the past 8 years, my Administration has been committed to working closely with tribes to strengthen our nation-to-nation relationships and to forge a brighter future for all of our children…I am proud of the progress we have made over the past 8 years. I applaud the Congress, and in particular Senator Heitkamp, for the efforts that made this new law possible.” Senator Heidi Heitkamp D-ND, who first introduced the bill in 2013 with Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said “There is a whole group of children in this country who have been neglected for too long. We’ve got to stop looking at these problems from a silo. All across the board in the federal system, each agency has a little piece of this. It has led to, I think, disjointed programming that has really frustrated the tribes themselves.” Tribal governments face numerous obstacles in responding to the needs of Native children.Read More:
Donna Ennis: Government Act Will Benefit Native Children (Indian Country Today 12/10)
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