USDA Consultations, May 22 & 23: The US Department of Agriculture will be holding two Indian Country consultations/listening sessions on their Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Purchase Preference. You can find details on the program as well as the sessions HERE.
NATHPO regularly submits comment letters to federal agencies advocating on behalf of Tribal communities and their THPOs. You can find several of our most recent letters HERE, and if you know of an upcoming deadline and want NATHPO to consider submitting comment, please contact Melissa Madrigal at melissa@nathpo.org.
WHAT NATHPO'S BEEN DOING
On the road again ... NATHPO Operations Director Melissa Madrigal embarked on the mother of all road trips - 13 states in 25 days. She started by attending the Bridging the Gap Conference in Oklahoma City - along with our Executive Director Valerie Grussing and our Indigenization Director Stacy Laravie - where they met with several THPOs, Tribal Chairs, and other folks working in the cultural preservation space. Then she and Stacy headed north, stopping to see some Ponca sacred sites in Nebraska before visiting the Northern Arapaho and Coeur d'Alene THPO offices. After that, Melissa headed to Seattle, where she completed a week of leadership training. On her return trip, Melissa was able to stop in Nevada and visit the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony THPO before making it back home to Texas.
Stay tuned to our Facebook page for photos and further context. It was a very illuminating trip!
Defense Department Training: Last week, NATHPO Executive Director Valerie Grussing and Repatriation Advisor Dr. Timothy McKeown took part in the Department of Defense American Indian Cultural Communication and Consultation Course at the National Museum of the American Indian. On Wednesday, they gave a talk entitled, "Tribal Historic Preservation Officers – Support and Guidance on Tribal Consultation." where they communicated ways for Defense Department Officials to better and more effectively work with THPOs, as well as updates on the new NAGPRA regulations. On Thursday, Valerie was able to bring her son Anderson along (it was Take Your Child to Work Day), and the Honorable Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations, and Environment)/Chief Sustainability Officer, presented Anderson with his very first Challenge Coin. Check out a few photos HERE.
NATHPO Community Calendar & Job Board & Grant Opportunities
Stay current on important happenings using our new Calendar of Events, and post your own to share! And let us know if you have a job posting you would like to share and we'll post it on our Community Job Board. AND don't forget to browse our listing of relevant Grant Opportunities.
Save The Date! 2024 NATHPO Annual Conference & Sacred Places Summit
The 24th Annual NATHPO Conference & Sacred Places Summit will take place August 12-16, 2024, at the Ho-Chunk Gaming Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. Register here and take advantage of early bird rates through April 30, stay tuned for more details, and be sure to mark these days on your calendars!
If you would like to become one of our conference sponsors, please contact please contact Melissa Madrigal at melissa@nathpo.org. Information about sponsorship rates is available HERE.
Thank you for all you do to protect culturally important places that perpetuate Native identity, resilience, and cultural endurance, and to empower Tribal preservation leaders.
THPOs: this is your organization! Your participation and support through membership and dues make our work possible. JOIN OR RENEW TODAY! Founded in 1998, the Association is a national non-profit membership organization of Tribal government officials who implement federal and Tribal preservation laws.
