1. CONFERENCE: REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR #NAFOAFALL23
Registration is officially open for NAFOA’s 2023 Fall Finance & Tribal Economies Conference to be held October 2-3, 2023 at The Sheraton Grand Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, AZ.
Our conference brings tribal, state, federal, and industry partners together in one educational forum to discuss important economic issues facing Indian Country. Register today to take advantage of great networking and informative educational sessions. We can’t wait to see you in Phoenix!
2. FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS: UNLOCK YOUR CAREER POTENTIAL WITH CAREER BASICS
NAFOA’s Career Basics is open for enrollment for 2023! Career Basics is a free online career readiness and personal finance program designed for 18-27-year-old Native American youth and young professionals.
The program offers coursework that provides opportunities for participants to improve career readiness, and personal finance skills, and advance their understanding of issues impacting tribal economies.
Career Basics is also designed to prepare youth for the NAFOA Leadership Summit. Young professionals ages 21-27 years old participating in Career Basics are invited to apply for the NAFOA Leadership Summit.
3. FROM THE NAFOA NAVIGATOR: PRIORITIZING CYBERSECURITY TO PROTECT TRIBAL ASSETS
By BOK Financial Native American Services
Cybersecurity is a growing problem, and tribal governments and entities aren’t immune. More and more, tribal government leaders are seeing the need for prioritizing cybersecurity efforts. No business or industry is immune as: ransomware attacks are happening across multiple sectors in large and small businesses alike. But five industries rise to the top as likely targets this year: small businesses, healthcare, government agencies, energy companies and higher education, according to CDNetworks.
In 2019, the Eastern Band of Cherokees had their entire network shut down due to a cyberattack. And in 2021, three affiliated tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations) made headlines when their servers were hacked and secure tribal information was essentially held hostage by a ransom request. While there’s no official database with statistics of how often tribes are affected by cyberattacks, it’s clear they’re happening.
It’s true that tribal operations at all levels, in all geographies, are exposed to cyber risk. Some people mistakenly believe that casinos are most vulnerable to an attack, specifically ransomware. But that’s simply not the case as breaches often occur at other tribal entities. Examples could include an administrative assistant clicking on a bad website link, a retail manager responds to a phishing scheme email, or employees access company issued tablets on unsecure Wifi. Cyberattacks are ever-evolving and don’t discriminate.
4. MEMBER TRIBE NEWS: READOUT FROM ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL VANITA GUPTA’S MEETING WITH MILLE LACS BAND OF OJIBWE
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta traveled to Minnesota today and met with Tribal leaders and members of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. The trip focused on areas – public safety, justice administration, reentry and victims’ services – where the Justice Department provides substantial grant funding to support Tribal self-governance. Associate Attorney General Gupta held government-to-government meetings with the Tribe’s leadership, heard about the Tribe’s work to respond to challenges and reinforced the Justice Department’s commitment to supporting Indian Country. She was joined throughout the trip by Director Tracy Toulou of the Justice Department’s Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ).
The Associate Attorney General’s trip to the Mille Lacs Band is the first in a series of meetings with Tribal governments on Tribal land in the coming months and is part of the Justice Department’s continued efforts to strengthen ties to Indian Country and elevate the voices and concerns of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Associate Attorney General Gupta opened the visit by remarking on the Supreme Court’s decision to reject constitutional challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act, a landmark statute that protects Indian children and families and safeguards Tribal self-governance. As Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement following the decision, the Justice Department vigorously defended the Act before the Court and will continue to do everything in its power to protect Tribal communities and affirm Tribal sovereignty.
Meetings with Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Chief Executive and Tribal Leadership
Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin of the Mille Lacs Band welcomed the Associate Attorney General and convened a meeting with a number of the Band’s executive, legislative and judicial leaders. During the meeting, the Associate Attorney General learned more about the operations of the Band’s government, day-to-day challenges and exercise of sovereignty over their Homelands. Chief Executive Benjamin is the Midwest representative on the Attorney General’s Tribal Nations Leadership Council.
From: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs
Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin serves as the NAFOA Board of Directors Secretary.
5. JOBS: TUOLUMNE ME WUK TRIBAL COUNCIL IS SEEKING CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Position Summary: Under the general direction of the Chief Administrative Officer & Chairperson of the Tribe, responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer will include, but are not limited to: fiscal management of all entities of the Tribe and any other new programs or entities which are created in the future; maintaining proper financial accountability and financial grant/contract compliance with funding sources; development and implementation of Tribal property, procurement, and fiscal policies.
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