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Southern Ute NAGPRA Coordinator Apprentice,
Garrett Briggs, recently finished his two-year training program
under the Tribe's Cultural Preservation Department.
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The Morris K. Udall & Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation)
and the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and
Policy at the University of Arizona (NNI) are pleased to announce
the selection of the 2020 Native American Congressional Interns.
The program's newest class of Udall Interns comprises 12 students
representing 12 tribes and nine universities from around the country.
The Udall Interns were selected by an independent review committee
on the basis of academic achievement, leadership, and demonstrated
commitment to careers in tribal public policy.
Garrett W. Briggs, a Northern Arizona University alumnus and member
of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe is among those recognized for a
Native American Congressional Internship. Briggs is a descendent
of the Mouache and Capote Bands of Utes. He is the first member
of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to be selected as a Udall intern.
Briggs obtained his Master of Arts in archaeological research from
Northern Arizona University in 2017 and spent the last three years
working for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe as a Tribal Liaison. Focused
on cultural preservation, he worked extensively with government
and tribal agencies in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico to document
and preserve Ute ancestral sites and to repatriate and protect ancestors.
In the future, Briggs plans to obtain his Juris Doctorate and work
for the Tribe as a lawyer specializing in the protection of Ute
heritage.
Udall Interns are placed in Senate, House, and Federal agency offices
in Washington, D.C., for an intensive nine-week summer program.
Additional professional development and enrichment activities are
hosted throughout the internship program and provide opportunities
for the Udall Interns to meet and network with key decision makers.
However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Udall Foundation
and NNI have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Udall
Internship program. As a result, all of the 2020 Udall Interns have
been offered spots in the 2021 program. In the interim, staff from
the Udall Foundation and NNI are working together to provide the
2020 Udall Interns with online professional development and networking
opportunities to keep the class connected and supported.
From 1996 through 2019, 278 Native American and Alaska Native students
from 124 Tribes have participated in the Native American Congressional
Internship program.
The Udall Foundation's Native American Congressional Internship
Program, funded and co-managed by NNI, provides Native American
and Alaska Native undergraduate, graduate, and law students with
the opportunity to gain practical experience with the Federal legislative
process in order to understand firsthand the government-to-government
relationship between Tribes and the Federal Government.
The Udall Foundation was established by Congress in 1992 as an
independent executive branch agency to honor Morris K. Udall's lasting
impact on this Nation's environment, public lands, and natural resources,
and his support of the rights and self-governance of Native Americans
and Alaska Natives. In 2009, Congress enacted legislation to honor
Stewart L. Udall and add his name to the Udall Foundation. For more
information, visit udall.gov.
NNI was founded in 2001 by the Udall Foundation and the University
of Arizona as a selfdetermination, governance, and development
resource for Native Nations. For more information, visit nni.arizona.edu.
For additional information about the Native Nations Institute and
the Udall Internship program, please contact Mona Nozhackum at nozhackum@arizona.edu
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