As Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama, I visited and worked with Indigenous communities and tribal nations across the country, hearing directly from native peoples about their experiences and challenges they face. These conversations were some of the most impactful of my entire career. At the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, I visited a home with 13 people all sharing an extremely crowded two-bedroom house. Despite the most difficult of circumstances, this native community was resilient, and remained determined to make progress in partnership with the federal government.

Indigenous people have been continually subject to cruelty and neglect at the hands of the federal government. We deserve a president who will strengthen tribal sovereignty, honor treaty commitments, ensure justice for Indigenous women, and advance tribal-federal partnerships for progress. As president, I will partner with Indigenous communities for a fairer and more prosperous future. My People First Indigenous Communities platform lays out a blueprint for ensuring all native people and communities can thrive in the years ahead.

Strengthening Tribal Sovereignty

Honoring Indigenous communities starts by reaffirming and strengthening their recognized sovereignty. We must honor the government-to-government relationship between tribal nations and the federal government. As president, I will create a White House Council on Indigenous Community Affairs to ensure Indigenous communities are represented in the federal government and at the decision-making table. As a former federal executive and cabinet member, I’ve seen firsthand how coordinated, inter-agency efforts can be effective in securing investments and delivering results. To ensure we are meeting our commitments to Indigenous communities, we must approach these issues with a similar effort.