Indian Affairs leadership highlights tribal self-governance and economic and energy independence during Arizona, Colorado visit

Scott Davis, senior advisor to the Secretary of the Interior, and other leaders from Indian Affairs wrapped up a multi-day visit to Arizona and Colorado where they engaged with tribal leaders on administration priorities. Davis, an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, is exercising the delegated authority of the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs.

On Tuesday, Davis spoke at the Tribal Self-Governance Conference, where he and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development Kennis Bellmard, a member of the Kaw Nation, shared the administration’s vision for a relationship between the federal government and tribal nations that prioritizes efficiency, accountability, and results over bureaucracy.

On Wednesday, Davis and Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Bryan Mercier, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, visited the Gila River Indian Community, where they toured two 105(l) lease sites, the Gila River Police Department and the Casa Blanca Community School, with Gila River Governor Stephen Lewis. A 105(l) lease is not a traditional lease, but an agreement between Indian Affairs and a tribe or tribal organization to reimburse costs when a facility is used to carry out programs, functions, services, or activities under an Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act contract or compact, enabling tribes to make decisions that best meet the needs of their communities.

On Thursday, Davis was in Denver, Colorado, visiting the BIA’s Indian Energy Service Center, whose mission is to fulfill the Department of the Interior’s trust responsibility in the energy and mineral development arena by modernizing business processes to efficiently develop the Indian energy and mineral estate while protecting trust assets by removing barriers to energy and mineral development on Indian lands. This mission supports the promise of unlocking new opportunities for sustained economic growth and energy development — key components of President Trump’s vision for national energy security and economic leadership.