UDALL FOUNDATION AWARDS 2010

NATIVE AMERICAN CONGRESSIONAL

INTERNSHIPS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Udall Foundation has chosen 12 students from 11 tribes and nine universities as 2010 Native American Congressional Interns. They were selected by an independent review committee of nationally recognized Native American educators and tribal policy leaders on the basis of academic achievement and demonstrated commitment to careers in tribal public policy..

This highly regarded internship program is intended to provide Native Americans and Alaska Natives with an insider's view of the federal government. The internship takes place in Washington, D.C., and is known for placing Native students in competitive positions in Senate and House offices, committees, Cabinet departments and the White House, where they are able to observe government decision-making processes firsthand.

The Foundation awards approximately 12 Internships every summer on the basis of merit to Native Americans and Alaska Natives who are college juniors or seniors, recent graduates from tribal or four-year colleges, or graduate or law students who have demonstrated an interest in fields related to tribal public policy, such as tribal governance, tribal law, Native American education, Native American health, Native American justice, natural resource protection, cultural preservation and revitalization, and Native American economic development.

The 12 new Udall Interns will complete an intensive, 10-week internship in the summer of 2010. Special enrichment activities will provide opportunities to meet with key decision makers. Since its inception in 1996, 162 Native American/Alaska Native students from 86 tribes have participated in the program.

The 2010 Native American Congressional Internship class includes

• Pete R.G. Coser Jr., a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma-Norman, and a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation;
• Hunter S. Cox, a junior at Dartmouth College, and a citizen of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation;
• Kimberly A. Cromwell, a law student at the University of Arizona, and a citizen of the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation;
• Nicholet A. Deschine, a graduate student at Arizona State University, and a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota;
• Cecilia H. Gobin, a senior at the University of Washington, and a citizen of the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation (Cecilia is also a 2008 & 2009 Udall Scholar);
• Brian J. Howard, a recent graduate of the University of New Mexico, and a citizen of the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation;
• Kathryn E. Jones, a recent graduate of Stanford University, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation;
• Jacob P. LaBuff, a law student at the University of Arizona, and a member of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana;
• Heidi L. Macdonald, a law student at the University of New Mexico, and a citizen of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation;
• M. Jordan Thompson, a law student at the University of Arizona, and a citizen of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation;
• Philip H. Tinker, a law student at the University of Tulsa, and a citizen of the Osage Tribe; and
• Summer R. Wilkie, a junior at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

For additional information on the Native American Congressional Internship Program, please visit our Web site at www.udall.gov or contact Jane Curlin at (520) 901-8565 or curlin@udall.gov.