Newly-elected Chief to Attend Tribal Nations Summit

Delaware Tribe of Indians Chief Paula Pechonick will be attending the 2010 White House Tribal Nations Summit.

Scheduled for Dec. 16, President Obama wlll host the Summit. The Summit invites one representative from each of the 565 federally recognized trtbes and give them an opportunity to interact directly with the president and representatives from the highest levels of his administration.

The goals of this year’s summit are to continue the meaningful discussion between tribal leadership and the administration and to continue to strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship between the U.S. and Indian Nations.

The Obama Administration hosted the first Tribal Nations Summit last November at the Interior Department. President Obama addressed the attendees, who’d come from all over the country, including Alaska.

Since President Obama’s first Tribal Nations Summit, the federal government has increased the number and scope of tribal consultations, passed lhe Tribal Law and Order Act with bipartisan support and made permanent the Indian Health Care Improvement  Act. The opening session and the closing session will be broadcast at www.whitehouse.gov/live.

Pechonlck was elected in November as the first female chief of the tribe. headquartered in Bartlesville. The Delaware Tribe regained federal recognition In 2009, yet it is a landless tribe.

While in Washington, Pechonick will urge the administration to protect the interest of landless tribes. The tribe intends to maintain a more active role in Indian affairs both state and nationwide.

Originally published in the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, December 10, 2010