Chief to attend president's meeting with tribes

For the first time in about a decade, American Indian tribes have been invited to the capital to meet with the president, and St. Regis Mohawk tribal Chief James W. Ransom will be one of them.

The meeting with President Barack Obama and his senior advisors is Thursday, but Mr. Ransom is already in Washington D.C. talking with other tribal representatives about issues confronting tribes across the country.

"It's been a while since we've had a president that's offered to meet with tribes," Mr. Ransom said. "It gives people hope that our concerns will be given further consideration that hasn't been there for years."

Though Mr. Ransom said he does not know how many tribes will be represented at the Tribal Nations Conference, each of the 564 federally recognized tribes was invited to send one person to attend the meeting, which will be from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in an auditorium in the Department of the Interior. There is no space in the White House that is big enough to hold all the tribal and executive administrative officials.

"Not every tribe can afford to send someone, but I expect a pretty good attendance on Thursday," Mr. Ransom said.

The tribal representatives are meeting among themselves today to discuss some of the major issues addressing American Indians, which they will then present to the president and his senior administrative staff. Some of those issues may include the enhanced tribal identification cards, updates and reforms to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and improved access to broadband Internet, according to Mr. Ransom.

The enhanced ID cards, which are similar to enhanced driver's licenses, are "basically an unfunded mandate," Mr. Ransom said. The St. Regis Mohawks have budgeted about $400,000 to develop the cards, but other tribes have spent up to $1 million, he said.

The Indian Health Care Improvement Act has not been updated in about a decade, Mr. Ransom said, and expanding its benefits would fit in well with the general health care reforms currently being discussed in Washington. Across Indian country, about 41 percent of people do not have health insurance, which means the tribal governments end up footing the bill for their doctor's visits and treatments, according to Mr. Ransom.

Tribal officials met with senior White House staff in August, as a preliminary meeting to this week's meeting with the president.