Udall Foundation Awards 2022 Native American Congressional Internships
Posted:
3/25/2022
The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) and the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy (NNI), a program of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at The University of Arizona, are pleased to announce the selection of the 2022 Native American Congressional Interns. The program’s newest class of Udall Interns comprises 11 students representing 10 Tribes and 10 universities from around the country. The Udall Interns were selected by an independent review committee on the basis of academic achievement, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to careers in Tribal public policy. From 1996 through 2021, 295 students from 131 Tribes have participated in the program.
The Udall Foundation’s Native American Congressional Internship Program, funded and comanaged by NNI, provides Native American and Alaska Native undergraduate, graduate, and law students with the opportunity to gain practical experience with the Federal legislative process in order to understand firsthand the government-to-government relationship between Tribes and the Federal Government. The Udall Interns will complete an intensive nine-week internship in the summer of 2022 in Washington, D.C. Special enrichment activities will provide opportunities to meet with key decision makers.
The 2022 Udall Interns are:
- Jessica M. Arkeketa, Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, South Dakota State University.
- Ryann C. Cornelius, Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, Dartmouth College.
- Ahnili S. Johnson-Jennings, Quapaw Tribe of Indians, Dartmouth College.
- Samantha D. Maltais, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) of Massachusetts, Harvard University.
- Michaela B. Parks, Cherokee Nation, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.
- Jessica L. Pouley, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Seattle University.
- Sophie M. Tiger, Comanche Nation, University of Oklahoma-Norman.
- Isabella L. Twocrow, Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, Northwestern University.
- Noah O. Wahquahboshkuk, Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, Michigan State University.
- Kelby G. Welsh, Cherokee Nation, University of Colorado-Boulder.
- William H.O. Wilkinson, Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, Carnegie Mellon University.
In addition, two of the 2021 Udall Interns have been offered spots in the 2022 program due to programmatic adjustments related to the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Udall Interns participating in the 2022 summer program are:
- Michael Cervantes, Penelakut Tribe, University of Washington.
- Bailey Stephens-Johns, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Tulsa Community College.
Click to learn more about the Congressional Internship Program and meet the 2022 Udall Interns.
More Information
For additional information about NNI and the Udall Internship program, please contact Alicia Harris at harris@udall.gov.
About the Udall Foundation
The Morris K. Udall Foundation was established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 as an independent executive branch agency to honor Morris K. Udall's lasting impact on this Nation’s environment, public lands, and natural resources, and his support of the rights and self-governance of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. In 2009, Congress enacted legislation to also honor Stewart L. Udall for his half century of distinguished national leadership in environmental and Native American policy. The agency is known today as the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.
The Udall Foundation is authorized by Congress to:
- Award Scholarships, Fellowships, and Internships for study in fields related to the environment and to Native Americans and Alaska Natives in fields related to health care and Tribal public policy.
- Connect youth to the Nation’s public lands and natural resources to foster greater understanding, appreciation, stewardship, and enjoyment of those lands and resources through photography, positive outdoor experiences, and environmental education through the Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus® Program.
- Provide funding to the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy to conduct policy research and outreach on the environment and related themes.
- Provide funding to the Udall Center’s Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy for research, education, and outreach on Native American and Alaska Native health care issues and Tribal public policy issues.
- Provide funding through the Udall Center to The University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections to serve as the repository for the papers of Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall and other such public papers as may be appropriate and assure such papers’ availability to the public.
- Provide impartial collaboration, consensus-building, training, and conflict resolution services on a wide range of environmental, natural and cultural resources, Tribal, and public lands issues, conflicts, and disputes involving the Federal Government through the John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution.
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