The Native American Congressional Advocate program is a two-year fellowship at FCNL for a young professional with a passion for protecting the rights, culture, and future of Native communities to influence federal policies in Washington, DC—and then to bring those skills and relationships back home.
I’m thrilled to tell you about FCNL’s new Native American Congressional Advocate program. FCNL’s advocacy on behalf of Native American issues goes back decades, and, with the launch of this new program, today it is stronger than ever.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce Lacina Tangnaqudo Onco who joined us in November as the first congressional advocate, following a rigorous outreach and search process. Lacina manages FCNL’s lobbying on legislation that affects Native communities, building connections between tribes, tribal organizations, and non-Indian allies, with a particular focus on faith groups’ advocacy to ensure that tribal needs are addressed.
Lacina comes to Washington, DC from Boston, where she managed the Metro Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership and served as the site manager for a nonprofit Indian health center serving the Boston urban Indian community. Lacina is a Bill Gates Millennium Scholar and holds a Master of Social Work degree from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and certificate in Native American studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a proud member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation of New York and the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
Native Americans
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I invite you to be involved in FCNL’s Native American advocacy by signing up to receive email updates. You can join us by lobbying your members of Congress, urging them to honor the promises the U.S. has made to Native peoples. You can also join us by making a donation to support FCNL’s Native American advocacy at fcnl.org/honorthepromises.
As always, we are grateful for your interest in and support of FCNL.