and so, i say, in the midst of challenges, in the midst of what might sometimes be a profound sense of uncertainty, let us always continue to have faith in their young leaders, in their future, and in our collective future. and i thank you all the leaders here, for all that you have done and all that you will do, and let's continue to fight for the opportunity and the dignity of all people. may god bless you and may god bless the united states of america. [applause] ♪ [march music] [applause]♪ >> hello again. i promise i am almost done with

my remarks. [laughter] thanks for bearing with me. hello again everyone, i hope you have enjoyed today's discussions and that really amazing lunch that we had. 20 years ago, i would never have believed that it would be standing here addressing you as a secretary of the interior, -- [cheers and applause] >> [voice breaks] -- thank you. thank you. talking about the historic progress we have made for indian country. president biden has been the best president for indian country in my lifetime! [applause] this is the president and an administration that truly sees indigenous people and has worked

tirelessly to address the issues in indian country that have long been underfunded or outright ignored. from infrastructure to education to the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous peoples' day, president joe biden has directed historic resources into the hands of tribal leaders who know best how to strengthen their communities. across the investing in america agenda, and historic $5 billion, more than 15 years' worth of the bureau of indian affairs' un-owned budget has gone into indian country through this administration. with that comes enduring and transformational change. it means electrifying homes on the hopi reservation in arizona that have never had it, protecting cultural resources like salmon which pacific northwest tribes have stewarded for thousands of years. building new transportation infrastructure for the mescalero apache nation in new mexico that

will provide a safer travel route and boost the tribe's local economy. addressing toxic legacy pollution and abandoned oil and gas infrastructure that pollutes the air and water for the osage nation in oklahoma. and providing clean drinking water for fort peck in montana. i could go on. this is a once-in-a-generation funding that is empowering tribes and making up for a significant and systematic, underfunding of the tribal communities. of course, we know that they need in our communities is still incredibly high. we know that many priorities still need adequate funding and resources. that's what decades of lack of investments look like. but what we have done will have lasting and enduring results for the generations that have counted on us to shut up.

it means that our kids and grandkids have a better shot at living lives where their needs are met, where their futures are bright, and where the pains and ills of the past no longer dictate they can become. that progress is unless, and it is thanks to president biden for making this administration and our cabinet form and unwavering partners in indian country. our cabinet has not always been unified in every decision. we are passionate people! [laughter] united in service to the american people, but also unique in our perspectives. in every single day, i have felt heard. i have felt respected, and i have felt secure that my advocacy on behalf of indian country has been acknowledged and seen by the white house.

20 years ago, i would never have thought i would be standing here. i would never have thought i would be welcoming the president of the united states! [laughs] [cheers and applause] to come on stage and greet my relatives, friends, and colleagues from across the nation. yet, here we are. so, please, give a warm welcome to someone i am so honored to call our friend, president joe biden. [applause] ♪

so if you will bear with us for a moment before the president gives his remarks, assistant secretary newland and i wanted to acknowledge the wonderful [voice breaks] leadership via president biden. he has been a champion for indian country over these past four years. and i felt the best way for us to acknowledge that was with the blanket. um -- [laughs] this is an eighth generation blanket from a tribally owned business. and i have had it embroidered, secretary. it says "joe, champion for indian country, 2021 to 2024." [cheers and applause]

[crowd cheering] i think they want us to look over there. [chanting] "thank you, joe!" thank you, mr. president. thank you very much. [crowd cheering] pres. biden: i could have used that blanket when i was lighting that christmas tree! [laughter] both of us were freezing. thank you, secretary. thank you, thank you, thank you. it is the owner of my life. i will cherish this moment. i was raised by a guy politically, when i got here at 29 as a senator, i was raised

by a guy who used to say the phrase tribes, no joke -- and nations. nations. this has been historic. we have worked with a lot of cabinet's and have appointed a bunch in my 500 year career. [laughter] but i tell you what, i have never worked with a cabinet secretary more obligated to the obligations of the job she has taken on. i really mean it. thanks to all the leaders who have traveled across the country representing your tribal nations. folks, i came to office and i re-launched the white house tribal nations summit, to bring us all together again. [applause] to talk about the needs of your communities. to set goals. to listen. because i recognized that respect is the core of the nation to nation relationships. we have a lot to be proud of, i

think. we have gotten a lot done. from day one suck my administration worked to include indigenous voices in everything we do. not only the first native american cabinet secretary in history, but more than 80 native americans now serve in senior roles across my administration. [applause] i mean this sincerely, with their help, we have shaped our approach to indian country with respect and matched our words with action. i am proud to have reestablished the white house counsel of native american affairs and take historic steps to improve tribal consultations. for example, you shared with me that too many federal programs treat tribes like they are subsidiaries of the government. like cities or counties rather than tribal nations, nations, not subsidiaries. that's who you are, you are nations.

so, at last year's summit, i signed a great groundbreaking executive order to recognize that you should be treated as tribal nations with respect to your decision-making power. that executive order requires federal agencies to streamline grant applications. to comanage federal programs to eliminate heavy handed reporting requirements. trying to do that across the board, by the way. [laughter] we are also investing in an historic 45 billion dollars, $45 billion directly into the indian country. more is needed, but it's more than ever happened before. this includes helping tribes, tribal communities get through the pandemic with vaccines in arms and checks in pockets. helping tribes build new roads, bridges, deliver affordable high -speed internet and clean water across tribal communities. as a nation, we are making the biggest investment ever, ever in fighting climate change, ever, in the history of the world.

which helps tribal communities to lead and transition to clean energy and eased the impacts of droughts and wildfires and rising sea levels that threaten native lives and precious homelands. i secured the first ever advanced funding for the indian health service. [cheers and applause] where i come from, we call that a big deal. [laughter] [applause] indian health service, so tribal hospitals can plan ahead and order supplies and hire doctors, knowing the money will be there. not having to wonder. all told, in four years, we have created 200,000 jobs for native americans. record low unemployment for native communities. there's been an historic $8 billion increase in federal contracts forwarded to native businesses. and i am proud. proud to have helped cut child

poverty in tribal communities by more than one-third. and there is more to do. [applause] at the same time, we are also doing what we should have done a long time ago, preserving ancestral tribal homelands. it really is important. it really is important. one example is restoring salmon fishing, which historically has been very important to native communities. i think it is very important that we memorialize native cultural history by restoring designated multiple national monuments that honor tribal nations and protect their homelands. from bear's ears to spirit mountain, which comprised nearly 2 million acres combined will be preserved for perpetuity. ever, ever, ever. [applause]

i remember a young woman came up to me and said, bend over, can i talk to you? i said, sure. she said, can you take care of bear's ears? i said, beg your pardon? can you take care of bear's ears? i thought she wanted me to capture and bear. [laughter] and we signed the bill and i give her the pen. it's sacred. it's magnificent. and this year, my administration designated the first native marine sanctuary proposed by indigenous communities off the coast of california, which occupies 4500 square miles. that's off limits. , you know, these efforts are totally consistent with my commitment when i came to office, to preserve 30% of all americans lands and waters permanently by the year 2030, and we are well on our way because of the help that you are giving it. and we are doing all this with

respect for the stewardship practices that tribes developed over the centuries, known as "indigenous knowledge." i believe tribes should have a say in how these sacred lands are managed. to this day, they should have a say. last year alone we doubled the number of co-stewardship agreements, totaling 400, with tribal nations. all of this is a stark cry from the failed policies of the past . in october i saw many of you in arizona today. today -- i will never forget, on behalf of the american people, i thought it was really important for the united states to stand up and right a wrong that had been ignored for a long time, and apologize, apologize -- [applause]

we are not about erasing it, we are about recognizing history, the good, the bad, and the ugly. i apologize for the federal indian boarding school era. a dark chapter that spanned 150 years from 1860 to 1960, in which entire generation of native children were literally stolen from their families and tribes and sent away to boarding school. the official policy in the federal government designed to sever ties between children and their troubled families, their language, their culture. today we act to continue that healing process. i am proud to announce that we are establishing the historic carlisle in getting industrial school in pennsylvania as a new national monument. [applause] i don't want people forgetting, 10, 20, 50 years and pretending

that didn't happen. the carlisle indian school was the first off reservation federal indian boarding school for native children, the first one. about 78 hundred children from more than 140 tribes were sent to carlisle, stolen from their families, their tribes, and their homelands. it was wrong. making it a monument, we makes clear what great nations do, we don't erase history, we acknowledge it and learn from it and we never repeat it again. [cheers and applause] we remember so we can heal. that's the purpose of memory. now, part of the tragedy of indian boarding schools is that they deliberately tried to erase the culture of tribes by

ensuring that children lost their language and their traditions. that's why the next chapter of healing requires revitalizing native languages. my wife, jill, to her, this is something our first lady cares deeply about. she is an educator. in her first trip with secretary haaland, she visited the language immersion program of the cherokee nation of oklahoma. she saw children light up -- light up, as they said words of their ancestors once spoke. over three quarters of the remaining native languages are in danger of being lost, being lost forever. that's why today my administration is moving ahead on a 10 year plan to revive native languages in a serious effort. [applause] it is a vision that works with tides and supports teachers,

schools, communities, organizations, in order to save native language from disappearing. this matters. it's part of our heritage and who we are as a nation. it's how we got to be who we are. it also said loud and clear that public safety is a top concern of many communities. that's why when i was vice president, we authorized the violence against women act which, as my daughter says, i wrote with my own paw. one of the proudest things we ever did. we also reaffirmed tribal sovereignty and expanded tribal jurisdiction to cover cases with outside predators that harm members of indian nations in indian country. [applause] i also signed an executive order to improve public safety and criminal justice, to address the missing and murdered indigenous crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people. these efforts and all our efforts are a matter of

restoring dignity that was taken away from tribal nations. it dignity. my dad used to say, joey -- and i mean this sincerely, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. the word most often used in my family but my dad -- dignity. that is the foundation of our nation to nation partnership. let me close with this. this is my final white house tribal nations summit. as your president. it has been an honor, and i mean it sincerely, the owner of a lifetime to usher in a new era of tribal sovereignty and self quota. a new era grounded in dignity -- sovereignty and self- determination. a new era grounded in dignity and respect for what i have seen and experienced in many ways. in october, i had the honor to bestow one of our nation's highest medals, the national medal of humanity, to the first

native american to serve this nation as a poet laureate. she once wrote, and i, quote, you are a story fed by generations. do you carry songs of grief, triumph, and loss. feel the power as you walk, run socially, even fly into infinite possibilities. then, of quote/unquote. 20 tribal nations, i say, thank you sincerely. thank you for your partnership. for your trust in me. but most of all, thank you for your friendship and always believing as i do that, the possibilities of our nation are limitless. i was once asked, when i spent more time in xi jinping in china than with any of the world leader, more than 108 hours alone with him, i was in a plateau with him in china and he

looked to me and said, can you define america for me? i said, yes. one word. he looked at me through a translator. i said, possibilities. in america, we believe anything is possible if we do it together and that is what we have done. we are going to continue doing it. thank you. [cheers and applause] ♪ >> attention, middle and high-school students across america, it's time to make your voice heard. c-span's studentcam document to contest 2025 is here. your chance to create a documentary that can inspire change, raise awareness, and make an impact. your documentary should answer

this year's question, "your message to the president, what issue is most important to you or your community?" whether you are passionate about politics, the environment, or community stories, studentcam is your platform to share your message with the world. with $100,000 in prizes including a grand prize of $5,000, this is your opportunity to not only make an impact, but be rewarded for your creativity and hard work. enter your submissions today. scan the code, or visit studentcam.org for all the details on how to enter. the deadline is january 20, 2025. ♪ c-span's "washington journal," our live forum discussing you. coming up to the morning, a look

at new research at how much will the americans pay in federal taxes, with the tax foundation senior economist erica york. then new york democratic congressman paul tonko on the looming spending deadline, the incoming trump administration, and democrats' priorities. also, the associated press pentagon correspondent discusses potential changes in the defense department during the next trump administration. c-span's "washington journal,", join in the composition of light at 7:00 eastern to the morning on c-span, c-span now. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including sparklight. >> what is great internet? is that strong? fast? is it reliable? at sparklight, we know connection goes beyond

technology. from monday morning meetings to friday nights with friends, and everything in between. but the best connections are always there right when you need them. how do you know it's great internet? because it works. we are sparklight, and are always working for you. announcer: sparklight supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front-row seat for democracy. ♪ announcer: defense secretary lloyd austin talked about the fall of bashar al-assad in syria. the secretary of defense made his remarks during the 13th and final trip to the indo-pacific region as pentagon chief. once again, good afternoon everybody. is