Washington, DC
December 5, 2023
Hi everyone! Welcome to the Department of Labor.
And Jack, thank you so much for that introduction. Your leadership is not only vital in our work with Tribal communities. It makes our entire Department better.
I know this is a busy week for everyone here. Today’s panel is one of many conversations that the Biden-Harris administration is hosting to talk about our close coordination with Tribal communities. So thank you all for taking the time to join us. And I want to thank all of our panelists for what I know will be a great discussion.
In President Biden’s America, we’re making historic investments to create new, good-paying jobs in infrastructure, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. And we’re making sure those investments reach every corner of our country – including Tribal communities.
Because for far too long, the story has been one of under-investment. An estimated 145,000 miles of roads run through Tribal lands. But over the years, those roads haven’t gotten much-needed improvements.
And think back to the height of COVID. During that time, the Department of Labor did not disaggregate data for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
So I worked with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to begin disaggregating data for American Indians and Alaska Natives. And what BLS found was devastating. At the height of COVID, unemployment for Native Americans was double the national average. And BLS told me that they had to increase the entire y-axis to fully break out the impact that the pandemic had on Native Americans.
BLS is now publishing monthly labor force estimates. And a recent analysis found that American Indians and Alaska Natives have a lower labor participation rate and a higher rate of unemployment, compared to the overall U.S. population.
So we’ve got work to do. And the Biden-Harris administration is working to change that story.
President Biden envisions an economy that grows from the middle out and the bottom up – and where no one is left behind. Because when we focus on the people and the communities that have been left out in the past, it’s not only the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.
A key part of this is strengthening our workforce system.
I think of our country’s workforce system as infrastructure. It’s the roads and bridges that connect people to the good jobs they want and need and employers to the people they want and need. But just like our physical infrastructure, our workforce system has some cracks. It’s got some potholes. And it doesn’t connect to every community the way that it should.
The Biden-Harris administration has already started delivering on infrastructure funding for Indian Country – like new roads and bridges, affordable, high-speed internet connections, clean water to flow out of every faucet, and more.
By the time the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is fully implemented, it will have made the largest single investment in Tribal infrastructure ever in U.S. history.
And we need to make sure that our workforce system is as strong as those new physical roads and bridges that we’re building. And we need it to reach all communities. That’s how we unleash the talents and skills of every worker in this nation.
In 2022, the Department of Labor announced the Good Jobs Initiative. And today’s panel will showcase how that work is already underway throughout Indian Country.
We’ll also hear how we can better prepare Native Americans, including Native youth, for growing jobs. That includes proven models like Registered Apprenticeship programs. If the workforce system is like infrastructure, Registered Apprenticeships are superhighways to good jobs.
And we have Native American union workers here today, who are building bridges – literally and figuratively – between labor unions and Tribal communities. As graduates of Registered Apprenticeships, they know first-hand the value of the programs we’ll talk about today.
I also want to announce two important steps forward in our work with Tribal communities.
The Department of Labor has issued its revised Final Tribal Consultation Policy. That policy makes clear that for any action that affects federally recognized Indian Tribes, the Department of Labor will engage in government-to-government consultation.
And we’re announcing the Tribal Consultation Training course for the Department of Labor. This is for all DOL employees who work directly with Tribal Nations or those who work on policies that would affect Tribal communities.
We’re committed to making good on President Biden’s memorandum requiring annual training to make sure federal employees understand the importance of Tribal consultation, the Nation-to-Nation relationship with Tribal Nations, and Tribal sovereignty.
Close coordination is key to unlocking opportunities that meet the needs of Native Americans, including Native youth, in communities across the country.
As President Biden says, a good job is about more than a paycheck.
Good jobs change lives. They bring dignity and respect. They sustain families, building intergenerational opportunity, wealth, and pride. And they build strong communities today and for the future.
And you have my commitment that the Department of Labor will be by your side to fulfill the promise of a good job in every community.
And with that, let me hand it over to Cierra Mitchell, who will moderate today’s panel.