Udall Foundation Native

American Congressional Internship

Program

Since 1996, the Udall Foundation's Native American Congressional Internship Program has been providing Native Americans and Alaska Natives with an insider's view of the federal government. Here are updates on a few former interns.

Milton Bluehouse, 1999 Intern

Milton Bluehouse is currently the environmental justice and tribal liaison for the state of New Mexico's Environment Department. He works with low income communities and people of color and the Department's six core environmental divisions in implementing Governor Bill Richardson's Executive Order 2005-056 on Environmental Justice in New Mexico. In addition, he works directly with New Mexico's 22 federally recognized Indian pueblos, tribes, and nations and their environment programs/departments by coordinating information between the Department and the tribes, and developing training and outreach. The Department is finalizing the Tribal Consultation Plan and will be developing MOU's/MOA's on specific environmental issues in the future.

Bluehouse received his bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and his juris doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. He was a member of the fourth class of Udall Congressional Interns in 1999 and interned for the House Committee on Natural Resources, Office of Indian Affairs.

Traci L. McClellan, 1996 Intern

Traci L. McClellan is the president of McClellan-Sorell Consulting, Inc., a company that offers knowledge, skills, and abilities to others seeking assistance with advocacy, organizational development, grant writing, education/outreach materials, drafting tribal codes and statistical analysis, among other services. McClellan draws upon her prior experience in Indian country to enrich the services she brings to her clients.

McClellan previously served as the executive director of the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She worked diligently to raise the organization's visibility among tribal leaders across Indian country and nationally among the aging network, lawmakers, and federal agencies in Washington, D.C. She actively fundraised to carry out NICOA's mission to improve health and social services for all American Indian and Alaska Native Elders. She also focused on developing, tracking, and responding to federal legislation, appropriations, and regulations impacting American Indian and Alaska Native Elders, especially Medicare, Medicaid, long term care, Older Americans Act, Indian Health Service, and transportation, to name a few.

Prior to leading NICOA, McClellan lived in Washington, DC, and served as the legislative director of the National Indian Health Board, a nonprofit health advocacy organization working on behalf of all federally recognized Tribes. She previously served as a staff attorney at the Northern Plains Indian Law Center (NPILC), located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and taught classes at the University of North Dakota School of Law, where the NPILC is located.

McClellan received her bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley, her master's degree at the University of Arizona and her juris doctorate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She was a member of the first class of Udall Native American Congressional Interns in 1996 and interned for the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Clara Pratte, 2003 Intern

Clara Pratte currently works at the Navajo Nation’s Washington, D.C., office, as the government and legislative affairs associate. In this capacity she works on issues involving: housing, community/economic development, education and transportation. Recently, Pratte assisted in the successful lobbying and passage of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA) reauthorization bill and the continuation of the Indian Tax Credit and Accelerated Depreciation provisions which are awaiting Presidential signature.

This past year, she worked on the Higher Education Act to secure a consistent funding mechanism for Navajo Technical College and traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to assist the Navajo Nation First Lady in her testimony before the United Nations regarding the disparities of justice in the prosecution of crimes against Native women. Additionally, Pratte is working on the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFTEA-LU) reauthorization and assisting with the analysis of No Child Left Behind Act on the Navajo Nation.

Pratte received her bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and her master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She was a member of the eighth class of Udall Congressional Interns in 2003 and interned for Congressman Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz.

Hillary Renick, 2002 Intern

Hillary Renick is working for the Sherwood Valley Rancheria on codifying aboriginal fishing rights into California law. She is putting together a Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) and Waterkeepers program to document the tribe’s continued use of specific places through time. Prior to this, she worked at the LaPena Law Corporation in Sacramento, California, on gaming issues involving California Indian tribes. She serves on the Board of Trustees for California Indian Legal Services and on the Native American Advisory Council to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Renick received her bachelor’s degree from American University, her master's degree from George Washington University, and her law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law, where she earned certificates of completion in ocean and coastal law, environmental and natural resources, pro bono, and public service. She is a member of the Sherwood Valley Rancheria and descendant of the Hopland, Fort Bragg, and Northern Paiute tribal communities. She was a member of the seventh class of Udall Congressional Interns in 2002 and interned for Senator Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

The Native American Congressional Internship Program is a 10-week internship in Washington, D.C., that places students 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 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. Recipients 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 internship was started in 1996 with the hope that interns would go on to play an important role in tribal communities and the national arena to help raise awareness to issues and challenges currently facing Indian country. As evidenced above, the Internship has reached a point in time where this goal has become a reality.

For additional information on the Native American Congressional Internship Program, visit: http://www.udall.gov/OurPrograms/NACInternship/NACInternship.aspx.