Pelosi previously promised to exempt
tribal members from having to pay for any health insurance
mandate that is part of health care reform legislation she
will oversee to become law.
Tribal leaders seemed largely happy with
the event.
“I was told it was going to be quick, but
I really felt that she listened to our concerns,” said
Matthew Franklin, chairman of the Ione Band of Miwok
Indians.
“It was an honor to be there, and I felt
like history was being made.”
Franklin was part of a group of leaders
associated with the National Congress of American Indians
who visited Pelosi. Besides his tribe, more than 15 other
tribal nation representatives were in attendance.
Jefferson Keel, NCAI president, said he
appreciates Pelosi’s attention to Indian health needs.
“Our friends in Congress on both sides of
the aisle are proving their support on our most pressing
issues,” said Keel, lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw
Nation of Oklahoma.
“Today’s developments are encouraging as
we head into an historic tribal nations conference with
President Barack Obama. … Our Native voices are being heard
so we can bring change to our people.”
Franklin said law enforcement issues and
the Supreme Court’s controversial Carcieri v. Salazar land
into trust decision were discussed.
“We got a lot done in a little amount of
time,” he said.
Carlos Sanchez, a spokesman for Pelosi,
said the speaker thought the meeting went well and would
like to meet with tribal leaders on more topics in the
future.
Sanchez said the speaker has met with
tribal leaders in the past, but he estimated that the other
meetings were not of this magnitude.
Beyond Franklin and Keel, tribal
representatives who participated in the meeting included: W.
Ron Allen, chairman, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe; Floyd
Jourdain, chairman, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians;
Cheryl Kennedy, chairwoman, Confederated Tribes of the
Grande Ronde Community; Hope MacDonald, councilwoman, Navajo
Nation; Marshall McKay, chairman, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation;
Mark Macarro, chairman, Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians;
Juana Majel-Dixon, councilwoman, Pauma Band of Mission
Indians; Richard Milanovich, chairman, Agua Caliente Band of
Cahuilla Indians; Mark Mitchell, governor, Pueblo of
Tesuque; Ned Norris Jr., chairman, Tohono O’odham Nation;
Brian Patterson, Oneida Indian Nation and president, United
South and Eastern Tribes; Samuel Penney, chairman, Nez Perce
Tribe; Buford Rolin, chairman, Poarch Band of Creek Indians;
Chandler Sanchez, governor, Pueblo of Acoma; Theresa Two
Bulls, president, Oglala Sioux Tribe; and Lynn Valbuena,
vice chairwoman, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.