President promises tribes greater voice

President Joe Biden pledged to give Native Americans a stronger voice in federal affairs, promising at the first in-person summit on tribal affairs in six years that he will bolster tribal consultations, inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in decisionmaking and funding for communities struggling with the impacts of climate change.

Biden spoke to representatives from hundreds of Native American and Alaska Native tribes on the opening day of the two-day White House Tribal Nations Summit.

He also told the group that he intends to designate the Spirit Mountain area, considered sacred by area Native Americans in southern Nevada, as a national monument. Avi Kwa Ame National Monument would encompass a rugged triangularshaped area roughly from Arizona and the Colorado River to California and the Mojave National Preserve.