Ceremonial Swearing in Ceremony Held for Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry EchoHawk
June 26, 2009
Representatives from several tribes and Native organizations were on hand Friday morning June 26 for the ceremonial swearing in of Larry Echo Hawk as the Department of the Interior’s eleventh Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar administered the oath to Echo Hawk, an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. Later Secretary Salazar spoke of President Obama’s commitment to Native Americans as playing a roll in his decision to become Secretary of the Interior.
“One of the key impellers for me to reach that decision was the fact that President Obama spoke eloquently to me about his personal commitment to the first Americans of the United States of America. And he said we will work to make sure that we deliver first on the promises to the Native American community that he made during the campaign. And he says ‘I want you to get that done.’ And so that was one of the great reasons that I decided to it and I’m glad that I did it and today I am just very proud of all of you who are here celebrating this very historic occasion.
The ceremony was filled with traditional music, dance and an honor blessing by a Pawnee elder.
The new Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs said he is grateful to be a part of a historic moment.
“We are in a historic moment; it may not be here again. I don’t know how long it’s going to last, but things are lined up just right to do something special, something magical and I am grateful to be a part of that.”
Larry Echo Hawk’s nomination by President Obama was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 19. Prior to his appointment, Echo Hawk served for 14 years as a Professor of Law at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School.
This has been a podcast from the U.S. Department of the Interior, I’m Ron Tull, Washington.