John,

Hanging behind my desk is one of the most cherished and beautiful gifts I have ever received - a hand-woven star quilt in my favorite color, green. It was made by the family of Victoria Kitcheyan, Chairwoman for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, and gifted to me for my legislative advocacy at the National Indian Health Board (NIHB). Receiving this quilt will always remain one of the biggest honors of my life.

NIHB serves all 574 federally-recognized Tribal Nations as the only national Tribally-led non-profit fighting to ensure fulfillment of federal Treaty obligations for healthcare. Before running for office, I served as NIHB’s Director of Congressional Relations, where I led our advocacy efforts before Congress. It was a daunting task - and an immense honor - to serve in that role during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when death, hospitalization, and infection rates in Tribal communities were the highest in the nation, outpacing even major cities like New York.

We achieved a tremendous deal - including a historic $10 billion in direct funding to Tribes to respond to COVID-19. We passed legislation canceling copays and deductibles for Native Veterans; guaranteed long-term funding for life-saving diabetes programs; and for the first time ever, secured funding through the CDC to address maternal health and mortality among Indigenous women. We also secured hundreds of millions for frontline communities battling the opioid crisis. I am proud to say that I got more bills enacted in 2 years as an advocate than Rep. Brad Sherman has accomplished in 26 years as a legislator.

But our work in fulfilling Treaty rights is far from over. Here are just a few of the disparities:

• Fossil fuel companies like Enbridge continue to ransack Indigenous land and waterways, violating centuries-old Treaties while simultaneously barreling us further towards climate catastrophe.
  
  
• Life expectancy for Indigenous people is roughly 5.5 years less than the national average, and the Indian Health Service - a federal agency charged with providing healthcare services - is funded at only 15% of annual need.
  
  
• Locally, the Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians - whose ancestral homelands include most of the San Fernando Valley in our district - still don’t have federal recognition despite decades of effort.
  
  
• Roughly 40% of Los Angeles’s water supply is still stolen from the Paiute Tribes in the Owens Valley - who for decades have lived with among the worst particulate matter pollution levels in the country because their water has been drained and diverted to LA.

The story of the quilt hanging behind my desk is the story of my commitment to unapologetically fighting for Indigenous Treaty rights - from full entitlement funding for the Indian Health Service to establishing a true process for Tribal consent in federal policymaking that impacts Indigenous communities. When in Congress, I will never stop fighting for Indigenous rights. I hope you’ll support our campaign by donating today so we can get a real advocate for protecting and strengthening Tribal sovereignty. #LandBack

Thank you, John

- Shervin