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WHAT IS USET?

WHAT IS USET SPF?

USET/USET SPF uses the following terminology to reinforce principles of Tribal sovereignty:

• Instead of the term TRIBE(S), we use TRIBAL NATION(S)
  Why? Tribal governments are sovereign nations that predate the United States. The term “Tribal Nation” emphasizes our nationhood in response to arguments that Tribal Nations are inferior units of government, subject to others’ laws and taxation.
• Instead of the term TRIBAL MEMBER(S), we useTRIBAL CITIZEN(S)
  Why? The term “member” is not reflective of the legal rights, privileges, and expectations of a citizen of a sovereign nation. No one is a member of the United States, they are a citizen. The term “member” implies voluntary membership in a club.
• Instead of the term RESERVATION, we use TRIBAL HOMELAND, TERRITORY, or JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARY
  Why? United States policies stole Tribal lands for the benefit of settlers, forcing Tribal Nations to relocate. Reservations remain a representation of this theft and the unjust confinement of our people. Terms like “Tribal homelands” and “Tribal territory” include sacred and culturally significant sites—including our homelands—that are located outside reservations.

USET SPF Calls Upon Congress to Confirm Patrice Kunesh for ANA Commissioner

March 7, 2023

With a confirmation vote likely to occur soon in the Senate, USET SPF continues to register its strong support for Patrice Kunesh to be the next Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) within the Administration on Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services.

USET SPF Statement in Recognition and Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 16, 2023

What we can draw from Dr. King’s lifelong work is that conversation, retrospect, and the aspiration of mutual respect amongst one another, can cross borders and intersect generations, race, identity, and backgrounds. Therefore, as a nation, we recognize a man who dedicated his life to opening the dialogue surrounding issues like racism, prejudice, and the effects of inequality on every person’s life. Dr. King and many others laid the foundation for the work of future social change makers, that build off these advocacy efforts.

USET SPF Lauds Nomination of Patrice Kunesh for ANA Commissioner

June 23, 2022

“Patrice is a well-known advocate for the rebuilding of Tribal Nations and our economies,” said USET SPF President, Chief Kirk Francis. “From her establishment of the Center for Indian Country Development to her service as Deputy Solicitor, to her extensive legal career, she has worked tirelessly to advance Tribal self-governance and economic development in Indian Country."

USET SPF Celebrates Historic Appointment of Chief Lynn Malerba as First Native U.S. Treasurer

June 21, 2022

“Chief Malerba embodies the highest ideals of leadership,” said USET SPF President, Chief Kirk Francis. “She leads with compassion, tact, love, integrity, professionalism, and respect for all people, while fervently advocating for the advancement of Tribal sovereignty and the delivery of trust obligations. For nearly 20 years, our Board of Directors has looked to Chief Malerba for her reasoned guidance and expertise amid some of Indian Country’s most complex issues... She has dedicated herself to the service of our Tribal communities, our people, and the next generations.

USET SPF Lauds Historic President’s FY2023 Budget Request

March 28, 2022

“The President’s FY 2023 Budget Request lays the foundation for revolutionary and transformational change in the diplomatic relationship between Tribal Nations and the United States,” said USET SPF President, Kirk Francis. “USET SPF has long called for mandatory and full funding for all federal Indian programs, including the Indian Health Service, and the Biden Administration is the first to heed this call by issuing proposals that would move us closer to realizing this necessary change."

USET SPF Applauds the Nomination of Bryan Newland for Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs

April 23, 2021

“Bryan knows first-hand the challenges we face, as well as the opportunities that lie ahead for us as sovereign governments,” said USET SPF President, Kirk Francis. “We know him to be fair, knowledgeable, and passionately committed to justice for our people and the advancement of the U.S.-Tribal Nation diplomatic relationship. At a time when America is reckoning with its past, Bryan is the right person to meet this moment and deliver meaningful change for Indian Country."

World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Pandemic Declaration (1 Year Anniversary) – USET/USET SPF President Kirk Francis Statement

March 11, 2021

"While we are not yet out of the tunnel, a warm and hopeful light awaits us ahead as the vaccinations roll out across our planet. While we all have reasons to hurt, it is my sincere hope that the devastation of the past year will serve as a reminder that we must forge a new path together that chooses unity and reverence as its guiding star."

Patrice H. Kunesh Confirmed as Administration for Native Americans Commissioner

Native News Online, March 9, 2023

Quote from USET/USET SPF President Kirk Francis:

“Patrice is a well-known advocate for the rebuilding of Tribal Nations and our economies,” said USET SPF President, Chief Kirk Francis in a press release. “From her establishment of the Center for Indian Country Development to her service as Deputy Solicitor, to her extensive legal career, she has worked tirelessly to advance Tribal self-governance and economic development in Indian Country.

Native American advocates welcome advance funding for Indian Health Service

Marketplace, December 27, 2022

Quote from USET/USET SPF President Kirk Francis:

There’s a dark joke in Indian Country that if you’re gonna get sick, you better do it before summer. That’s about when IHS-funded clinics and hospitals start running low on cash, said Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Indian Nation in Maine.

“You might get to June or July and realize that you don’t have the resources,” he said, to order expensive imaging tests or refer patients to specialists.

Additional quote from USET/USET SPF President Kirk Francis:

Properly funded IHS isn’t a favor to tribal nations, said Chief Francis — it’s owed to them based on the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations.

“Advance appropriations is the first step in really starting to change the conversation from a discretionary conversation to a mandatory one,” he said.

Only the first step, because even with advance appropriations, Francis said, the IHS is massively underfunded — to the tune of over $45 billion, by tribal leaders’ latest estimates.

Government report outlines web of problems impeding tribal access to federal funds

Marketplace, December 21, 2022

Quote from USET SPF Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs Liz Malerba:

Then came confusion around spending rules and deadlines, said Liz Malerba with United South and Eastern Tribes.

“Tribal nations are asking the federal agency whether a project or a funding purpose is allowed,” said Malerba. Like, can we use this money to build housing? Or distribute it for food or rental assistance? But instead of giving those questions a thumbs up or down, “they’re citing back to their own guidance that is causing the confusion in the first place.”

Malerba said tribes second guessed badly needed spending, fearing they’d have to pay the money back.

What Indigenous Peoples’ Day means to Native Americans

CNN, October 10, 2022

Quote from USET/USET SPF Executive Director Kitcki Carroll:

Kitcki Carroll, an enrolled citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and executive director of United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc., sees the day as an opportunity to tell a different story about the US.

Indigenous people have often been erased from the country’s historical record – a survey from the National Congress of American Indians found that 87% of state history standards don’t mention Native American history after 1900, while 27 states don’t mention Native Americans in their K-12 curriculum.

Yet Native people continue to have a presence here, while the lands and natural resources that were taken from them became foundational to this country, Carroll said.

“The United States has evolved over time become the most powerful and wealthy nation the world has ever known,” he said. “It has Indian Country to thank for that.”

Congress Surprised by Biden Call for Indian Health Service Funds

Bloomberg Government, March 30, 2022

Quote from USET/USET SPF Executive Director Kitcki Carroll:

“There are tremendous health disparities across Indian country and those exist because the U.S. has not honored its promises,” said Kitcki Carroll, executive director of the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund.

Carroll said his group has spent years lobbying to secure more consistent funding for the IHS and other programs. As discretionary programs, IHS services get hit by government shutdowns and Congress’s propensity for short-term spending bills, interrupting needed care. That also means IHS health programs often can’t give health-care providers multiyear employment contracts, making it hard to attract doctors, Carroll said.

Tribal groups want to boost traditional diets in federal food aid

Roll Call, February 2, 2022

Quote from USET SPF Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs Liz Malerba:

Liz Malerba, policy director for United South and Eastern Tribes, said the Agriculture Department’s oversight of FDPIR means the federal government sets the diet of thousands of Native Americans. She acknowledged that the USDA has included some cultural foods in the aid in recent years but said the tribes should have full authority over the program.

“For generations, FDPIR and the commodities program that preceded it involved the federal government making decisions about what tribal citizens were eating,” Malerba said. She is a citizen of the Mohegan tribe.

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King’s Legacy and Challenging Us All to Recommit to Furthering His Life’s Work

Published by NativeNewsOnline.net on January 17, 2022

Honoring Traditional Ecological Knowledge is Critical

by Kirk Francis, Sr.

Published by IndianCountryToday.com on December 13, 2021