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Kimberly TeeheeCourtesy of Rep. Dale Kildee's office

Obama Names Cherokee as Native Policy Adviser

By Kevin Abourezk

President Obama announced the appointment of a Cherokee Nation woman as the new senior policy adviser for Native American affairs Monday during a taped speech delivered to the National Congress of American Indians.

Kimberly Teehee will fill the position that Obama promised to create while campaigning for the presidency. Teehee will serve on the White House Domestic Policy Council, which coordinates the domestic policy-making process in the White House and offers advice to Obama.

"Kim Teehee will be a tremendous asset to our team as we work to strengthen and build on the nation-to-nation relationship between the United States and tribal nations," said Obama. "She is rightly recognized as an outstanding advocate for Indian Country, and she will provide a direct interface at the highest level of my administration, assuring a voice for Native Americans during policy making decisions."

Obama also announced Monday that the White House will hold a Tribal Nations Conference later this fall.

Fixture in Washington

A fixture in Washington, D.C., Teehee has served since January 1998 as senior adviser to Congressman Dale Kildee (D-Mich.), co-chair of the House of Representatives' Native American Caucus. Teehee also has served as director of Native American outreach for the Presidential Inaugural Committee for President Clinton's second Inauguration.

Prior to that, Teehee worked for the Democratic National Committee as deputy director of Native American Outreach for the committee's first Indian desk. She also has held various positions with the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, including law clerk in the Division of Law and Justice.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., and her Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa, College of Law. While in law school, Teehee was honored with the Bureau of National Affairs Award and served in leadership positions in the National Native American Law Student Association and the Iowa Native American Law Student Association.

'Passionate Advocate'

"President Obama has made an excellent choice in Kim Teehee," Kildee said in a news release Monday. "I have worked with Kim for over a decade, and I have always found her to be a thoughtful, dedicated and passionate advocate for our Native American population. The president has made it clear that he is committed to strengthening the relationship between the United States and tribal nations and I am confident that Kim will be instrumental in achieving that goal."

As senior adviser to Kildee, Teehee advised the more than 100 members of the bi-partisan Native American Caucus. She wrote speeches, testimony and legislation relating to Native American issues and worked closely with House leadership and Senate staff. She also coordinated with tribal leaders and organizations from across the country.

Teehee comes from a Cherokee-speaking family and grew up in Claremore, Okla. She was born in Chicago, where her parents moved as part of a federal relocation assistance program for Indians.

Teehee joins an impressive list of Native leaders appointed to serve within the Obama administration: Larry EchoHawk, assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs; Yvette Roubideaux, director of the Indian Health Service; Mary Smith, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice; Hilary Tomkins, solicitor of the Department of Interior; and Jodi Gillette, a member of the White House Intergovernmental Affairs staff.

'A Great Choice'

Teehee also has worked extensively with the National Congress of American Indians on developing Native policy issues and strategies for the House Native American Caucus.

"She's just a great choice," Jackie Johnson Pata, executive director of NCAI, said Monday. "I'm just elated."

Johnson Pata described Teehee as "responsive and collaborative" to tribal governments and organizations. She said Teehee has developed relationships with many tribal governments.

She said she's looking forward to having a Native voice on the White House Domestic Policy Council, which includes several White House cabinet members who have direct access to Obama. She is hopeful Teehee will be able to focus conversations on domestic policy issues before the council on Native concerns.

"Kim's job is going to really be able to hone in on those policy issues," Johnson Pata said. "This is going to be a very important position within this administration and the way it's structured.

"It is like the No. 1 position in Indian Country."

Text of Obama's Remarks

The text of President Obama’s taped remarks to the National Congress of American Indians Mid-Year Conference follows:

Good morning everyone. I appreciate this opportunity to speak with you today and to express my admiration and support for the critical work NCAI does advocating for the rights and aspirations of American Indians and Alaska Natives. I’m also pleased to have the chance to acknowledge your President, Joe Garcia, for his outstanding leadership in this regard.

As you all know, our nation is at a defining moment, facing challenges unlike any in our lifetime, both at home and abroad. And as we work to rebuild our economy, strengthen our security and ensure that our children have every opportunity to fulfill their dreams, we’ll need every American and every community to get involved.

That is why I am committed to strengthening and building on the Nation-to-Nation relationship between the United States and tribal nations. That commitment started with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provides over $3 billion in funding for Indian Country. And it extends to our work to empower Native communities to address their pressing local priorities, starting with significant increases in the 2010 proposed budget for health care, law enforcement and education. I recognize that this budget proposal does not make up for past deficiencies, but it does reflect my determination to work with you to reevaluate our spending priorities and include Native Americans in the national policy debate.

These efforts will not be easy. At times the pace of progress will be frustrating. But I am confident that we can bring the change we need, particularly given the outstanding team of leaders and experts whom I’ve chosen to join my Administration. Individuals like Larry Echo Hawk as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs; Yvette Roubideaux as Director of the Indian Health Service; Mary Smith as Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice; and Hilary Tomkins as Solicitor of the Department of Interior.

I am also pleased to point out that Jodi Gillette of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who is a member of my White House Intergovernmental Affairs staff, is with you today. And I am delighted to announce that someone many of you know Kim Teehee -- will soon be joining the White House Domestic Policy Council.

As we move forward, I want you to know that my staff and I are eager to engage with Indian Country on your priorities – to listen to you and learn from you. I am particularly looking forward to meeting with many of you at the Tribal Nations Conference we will hold at the White House later this fall.

Again, I thank you for your commitment. I wish you much success in your discussion today, and I look forward to hearing about it from Jodi when she returns to Washington later this week.

Abourezk reported from Lincoln, Neb.

Kevin Abourezk, Rosebud Lakota, is a reporter and editor at the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. He writes reznet's "Red Clout" political blog and teaches reporting at the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute. Abourezk was awarded a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism in 2006.