Jacqueline Johnson-Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, will speak at Brigham Young University's Varsity Theater Friday, March 27, at 4 p.m. as a guest of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at the Harold B. Lee Library.
The NCAI is the oldest and largest tribal government organization in the United States. Johnson and the NCAI represent more than 250 tribal governments and serve to inform the public and the federal government on a broad range of policy issues affecting tribes
Her lecture is in conjunction with the 2009 Cedartree Pow Wow which will be held that day at the Wilkinson Center.
Johnson-Pata is Tlingit of the Raven Tribe. Prior to joining the NCAI in 2001 she served as deputy assistant secretary for Native American programs in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She has chaired the National American Indian Housing Council and directed the Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority.
She serves on the executive board for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Conference for Community and Justice and the Sealaska Corporation.
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) calls Johnson-Pata "a skilled diplomat who listens to native people and passionately articulates their views to the Congress and the Executive Branch."
For more information, contact Brian Cannon at (801) 422-5211.
Writer: Angela Fischer
