Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland addresses the 39th annual National Tribal Health Conference on September 28, 2022.

Newland is a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community. He oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education in his role at the Department of the Interior.

“We know that social determinants of health in Indian Country have also been impacted by the harmful policies of the past, including colonization, the taking of Indian lands and the forced assimilation of tribal communities,” Newland said in his remarks.

“Our challenge is to heal from that and our obligation in the federal government is to build back what we un the federal government work so hard to destroy,” Newland said.

The National Indian Health Board hosted the conference in Washington, D.C. It took place from September 26-28, 2022.