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Smith River Rancheria Tribal Council Makes Fifth Annual
Lobbying Trip to Washington DC
Ray Bucheger; Lobbyist
During the 2009 Presidential Campaign, then-Senator Barack Obama said that Indian tribes in America face a unique set of challenges and admitted that issues like sovereignty, health care, and education, while central to tribes’ future prosperity and embedded in the federal government’s responsibility, are often neglected. Obama then committed to tribal nation building and enforcing the federal government’s obligations to Indian people.
The Smith River Rancheria Tribal Council traveled to Washington DC one year after Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States to make sure his Administration does not forget Obama’s pledge, and to advocate for Smith River Rancheria’s specific economic development agenda and defend the Tribe’s subsistence, ceremonial and cultural rights. During this fifth annual trip to Washington, the Tribal Council also advocated for additional investments in health care, incentives for energy infrastructure and funding for education and public safety.
The Tribal Council’s annual trip to Washington DC is extremely important. Smith River Rancheria is only one of 108 Indian Tribes in California and 562 Indian Tribes across the nation; by traveling to Washington, the Tribal Council ensures that the Smith River Rancheria’s voice is heard and that Members of Congress and their staff, leaders in the Executive Branch, and Tribal organizations working in DC are mindful of the Tribe’s priorities. Previous trips have been very successful, resulting in the transfer of the Howonquet Head Start facility, nearly one million dollars in funding for the Tribe’s wastewater treatment facility, and millions more dollars obtained through the federal grant-making process.
The Tribal Council’s annual trip to Washington leaves little time for rest, with nearly 20 meetings scheduled this year on Capitol Hill and throughout the city over the span of three days. Included in this rigorous schedule are meetings with the California and Oregon Congressional delegations – including a sit-down with the Smith River Rancheria’s Congressman, Mike Thompson – meetings with the Senate Committee overseeing Tribal issues, the DC offices of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Office, the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Gaming Association and others.
Indian Tribes across America are similarly advocating for their priorities. By traveling to Washington, DC, Smith River Rancheria is in a better position than most to influence how future decisions are made in Congress and throughout the Executive Branch, and to increase the amount of funding directed back to the Tribe