WASHINGTON – On Thursday, July 9, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will deliver opening remarks at the first-ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering, part of the Obama Administration's Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative to remove barriers standing between Native youth and opportunities to succeed. The Gathering provides Native youth from across the country the opportunity to interact directly with senior Administration officials and the White House Council on Native American Affairs, chaired by Secretary Jewell.
The White House Tribal Youth Gathering is a collaboration between the White House and UNITY Inc. The event builds upon the President’s continued commitment to improve the lives of Native youth across the country. Nearly half of Native American people (42 percent) are under the age of 24. More than one-third of Native children live in poverty and Native youth have the lowest high school graduation rates in the country, according to a recent White House report.
Under a Council initiative, Secretary Jewell and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued a Blueprint for Reform in June 2014 to transform the Department’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). The goal of this transformation is to give tribal nations the ability themselves to provide an academically rigorous and culturally appropriate education to their students, according to their needs.
Following her remarks at the July 9 Gathering, Secretary Jewell and BIE Director Dr. Charles ‘Monty’ Roessel will participate in a panel discussion at the Native American Journalists Association conference on Friday, July 10.
Who: Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
What: Opening remarks at White House Tribal Youth Gathering
When: Thursday, June 9, 2015 9:00 a.m. – Remarks during the opening ceremony
Where: Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel Grand Ballroom 999 9th Street NW Washington, DC 20001
Media: Credentialed members of the media must RSVP here.
