After several months of waiting, President Barack Obama finally announced his nomination of one of the last, high-level American Indian appointments within his administration. He nominatd Lillian Sparks as the commissioner for the Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services. The White House sent out this press release late last week:
Lillian Sparks, a Lakota woman of the Rosebud and Oglala Sioux Tribes, has served as Executive Director of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) since 2004. Prior to joining NIEA, Ms. Sparks was a staff attorney with the National Congress of American Indians where she worked on international indigenous rights, sacred sites and religious protection, and issues related to youth and healthcare. She also previously served as a law clerk for the National Indian Gaming Commission in the Department of the Interior where she, among other duties, reviewed tribal gaming regulations to ensure compliance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Ms. Sparks is a member of the National Congress of America Indians, the Native American Bar Association, and the National Trends & Services Committee. In 2004, she was named one of seven young Native American Leaders by the USA Weekend magazine. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morgan State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Jodi Rave