FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2005

PRESIDENT THOMAS NCAI PARLIAMENTARIAN

Tlingit Haida Central Council President, Edward K. Thomas, was appointed the Parliamentarian for this year's 62nd Annual National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A record number of Native Americans attended this year's convention October 30 through November 4, 2005.

Joe Garcia from New Mexico was elected NCAI President. The other officers are as follows: Jefferson Keele (OK), First Vice-President; Juana Majel-Dixon (CA), Secretary; and W. Ron Allen (WA), Treasurer. Mike Williams from Aniak was elected Alaska Vice-President with Edward Thomas as alternate.

President Thomas serves as the Chair of the NCAI Special Taskforce on federal appropriations for Native American programs and gave a PowerPoint presentation on key factors to consider when advocating for increases in Indian federal program budgets. The presentation was well received and NCAI has requested a White House Summit on federal funding to Native Americans. The Summit will most likely take place in late April or early May 2006. We believe that it is critical that we discuss long-term budget strategies, not just short-term.

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