Biden is prioritizing Native Americans

affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Obama administration, said that up until the pandemic, tribes were the 13th largest employer in the United States.

“One of our best assets in Indian Country is our lands. (We have) over 60 million acres of land. But tribes don’t have control over this land, and it’s due to a complex federal process that inhibits, prohibits, impedes making good use and productive use of those lands to build homes, improve infrastructure, and to grow food so we can feed ourselves,” Kunesh said.

Addressing the issue of infrastructure, a recurring theme in Thursday’s discussion, Davis, the founder, publisher and executive editor of Native Business magazine, highlighted the importance of self-sustainability for Native American communities in promoting development.

“We need to connect the dots on broadband and housing, roads, water and healthcare so that we can fully function as sustainable tribal nations and create true economies in all of our communities. How can we effectively run a business or a tribe without the ability to have our basic needs met?”

Biden’s campaign draws on work by the Obama Administration to support tribal nations.

Among other initiatives, the administration established the White House Council on Native American Affairs, created a land buy-back program for tribal nations, and settled disputes that prohibited development of land and water rights on tribal lands.

For his part, Republican President Donald Trump held a May 5 roundtable discussion in Phoenix with leaders from the Gila River Indian Community and the Navajo Nation in Phoenix.

At the event, Trump talked about federal resources that would help them deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You deserve it,” Trump said at the time. “You’ve been going through a lot.”

The Trump administration reestablished the Native American affairs council in April. Among its goals are promoting economic development on tribal lands and energy development, along with addressing COVID-19.

A staunch opponent of Trump, Grijalva, D-Ariz., who represents Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, said he believes the upcoming presidential election is essential for Native American communities.

“I think there has to be reform to the point where you have an opportunity to put in place not just the people, but the structures of systemic responses to needs of Indian Country that I don’t think are there now,” Grijalva said at the meeting.

Grijalva wants to see a “complete economic development package” for Native American communities.