In Indian Country, the Biden presidency is a revelation

On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the largest single financial investment in Indian Country in the history of the United States.

Reflecting on the Biden-Harris administration, the past year has been filled with historic appointments, federal actions and investments in Indian Country unlike anything I have seen in my lifetime.

A grassroots effort in support of Laguna Pueblo leader Deb Haaland's appointment as U.S. Secretary of the Interior was successful. Knowing that a Native American woman is stewarding the Bureau of Indian Affairs, overseeing the federal trust relationship to tribal nations, and is safeguarding federal public lands and wildlife brings a level of peace and assurance few other federal actions could. Biden was responsible for her nomination as a role model for young Natives for generations to come.

In the U.S. Senate, Biden stood as an ally voting for the 1975 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, and the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. He supported criminal jurisdiction for tribal courts to prosecute non-Natives committing domestic violence on tribal lands as part of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2013. The 2013 VAWA provision was a step in the right direction allowing for tribal communities to address violence against Native people when the non-Native abuser is in an intimate partner relationship with the Native victim.

Biden, in short, has always supported tribes and tribal issues but as president he is defining his legacy.

In the 2020 election, tribal leadership came out in full force to support Biden. Since his election, he has uplifted Indian Country by listening and responding to some of our most urgent needs. Within his first 100 days, Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline slated to run through the middle of South Dakota, threatening the homelands of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires) of the Sioux Nation on their nine reservations in the state.

On socioeconomic measures, Native Americans have sat on the bottom rung for centuries due to failed U.S. policies and lack of funding to rebuild our economies and infrastructure. In March 2021, the Biden-Harris administration began a process to transfer $32 billion in direct investments into tribal communities through ARPA. In April 2021, the administration announced an investment of $4 billion to assist tribal nations in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

In late 2021, the Biden-Harris administration followed with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, dedicating more than $13 billion directly to Native communities. These investments are significant when one-quarter of Native Americans live in poverty, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Native Americans are resilient and constantly strive to contribute to the national character of the United States. Biden has made historic nominations to elevate Native American jurists to the federal bench. His nominee Lauren King, Muscogee Creek Nation, was confirmed in 2021 and is the first Native American federal judge in the state of Washington. He announced in December 2021 a second Native American nominee, Sunshine Sykes of the Navajo Nation, awaiting Senate confirmation. This record of nominating Native Americans to the federal bench surpasses all previous administrations — in the first year in office.

He has also appointed over 50 Native Americans to serve in key roles throughout his administration.

Within the federal courts, tribal nations have often been forced to litigate the perpetual treaty obligations guaranteed by the U.S. in over 400 treaties ratified by the U.S. Senate. At Biden's 2021 Tribal Summit on Nov. 15, 2021, he announced that 17 federal agencies and departments would work to enforce and protect tribal treaty rights. In this country, tribal leadership entered into treaties of "perpetual peace and friendship" with federal officials representing the U.S. Biden has taken on the dignity of his role to ensure that the U.S. lives up to its binding promises exchanged for lands to build what has become a world leader among nations.

If this first year of office is indicative of the next three years, President Joe Biden will go down in history as one of the most beloved U.S. presidents ever known in Indian Country.

Angelique W. EagleWoman (Wambdi A. Was'teWinyan), is a law professor, director of the Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, an associate justice on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Supreme Court and an author. On Twitter: @ProfEagleWoman.