Tribal Chairman John Lowery Weekly Video Update Jan. 16, 2026
- Jan 16
- 2 min read
Hello everyone, I have asked Tammy Maynor, our Governmental Affairs Director, to be the lead for our federal recognition transition. I have asked Heather Nakai to work along with Tammy, as our Recognition Coordinator. Heather is leading the initiative to prioritize our efforts to ensure we identify all potential programs and opportunities. With her expertise, we are focusing on exercising our sovereign rights and protecting our tribe's future. As our team moves forward in these stages of nation-building, one of the foundational aspects we will have to address will be the tribe’s sovereign immunity and how it can and will be used to protect our long-term viability. This week, the Bureau of Indian Affairs reviewed our constitution and our latest enrollment ordinance. This was the first step towards reviewing our processes and procedures and verifying our rolls. Our enrollment office will host a call with the BIA next week to do a deeper dive into our enrollment processes and to ask us any questions they may have. We also met this week with our Agriculture and Natural Resources Department and told them to start working with the United States Department of Agriculture to identify programs that we can apply for that align with our agriculture priorities. We have also decided that we will look into what steps are needed for us to have an extension program, working with our state’s land grant institutions, that can be ran in cooperation with our tribe as another service for our farmers and ranchers. We also spent time this week identifying what funds will assist our tribal historic preservation officer as he embarks on a new world of consultations with the Smithsonian Institute, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Town Creek Indian Mound. We have also been invited to participate in Tribal consultations at the federal level that involve Vocational Rehab, the Department of Education, and the Indian Health Services. These new levels of Government-to-Government relationships are something that we have not experienced before, and they showcase the acknowledgement of our sovereignty and fuel our self-determination. This has been a great week for our people and a great week for our tribe and I look forward to the many weeks to come. Thank you and have a safe and blessed weekend!
