Marilynn Malerba stands next to a photo of late leader Ralph Sturges at the tribal office in Uncasville, Conn., on March 4, 2010. On Wednesday, President Biden announced her intention to appoint her U.S. treasurer for the first time in history.
Jessica Hill / AP
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Jessica Hill / AP
Marilynn Malerba stands next to a photo of late leader Ralph Sturges at the tribal office in Uncasville, Conn., on March 4, 2010. On Wednesday, President Biden announced her intention to appoint her U.S. treasurer for the first time in history.
Jessica Hill / AP
President Biden plans to appoint tribal leader Marilynn Malerba as US treasurer, making her the first Native American to hold that office – and the first Native woman to have her signature on the field. American money.
Malerba was the 18th chief of the Mohegan Tribe, and the first female chief in modern history. Prior to becoming chief – a lifetime appointment made by the tribe’s Council of Elders – in 2010 she was tribal council president and served in tribal government as chief of staff. executive director of health and human services. She is also a former member of the Treasury Tribe Advisory Committee.
As treasurer, she will oversee the United States Mint, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and gold storage at Fort Knox, as well as acting as a senior advisor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on matters topics related to community development and public participation.
She will also lead the Treasury Department’s newly created Tribal and Indigenous Office, which will coordinate tribal relations within the department and home affairs staff dedicated to communicating with tribal states.
“I am honored and humbled by Secretary Yellen and the Biden Administration’s commitment to ensuring that the Treasury Department hears all voices as we work together to create an equal and just society. equal”, Malerba said in a statement. “It is especially important that our native accent is respected.”
Biden announces intention to nominate Malerba on Tuesdayon the same day that Yellen visited the Rosebud Indian Reservation in what the Treasury describes as the first trip of a treasury secretary to a tribal country.
Yellen spoke to residents and tribal leaders about how the Biden administration is working to aid the tribal nation’s pandemic recovery and expand economic opportunity, while also praising the appointment Malerba’s coming is a step in that direction.
“This is a historic appointment,” Yellen said in a statement. “Her leadership and experience will deepen our commitment to help expand economic opportunity for all Tribal communities.”
Malerba has a track record of leading in tribal health and management
Malerba began her career in healthcare, working as a registered nurse and eventually as director of cardiovascular and pulmonary services at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in Connecticut, according to her. Biography of the Mohegan . Tribe.
The Malerba family has deep ties to public service: She is the niece of Chief Matagha, known as Burrill Fielding, and her mother, Loretta Roberge, served on the tribal council for three decades and kept the position of the Tribal Nonner (chief of respect).
Malerba said to NPR’s Talking about the nation in 2010, when she became the first female chief of the Mohegan Tribe in about 300 years, she followed in the footsteps of many official and unofficial female tribal leaders – and hopes to inspire others Future.
“I think it shows all the young women in the tribe that there is absolutely no glass ceiling in tribal structures and in tribal government, and I think that’s a very important message to share. with them,” she said of her date. to location.
You will soon start seeing new signatures on your banknotes
Malerba intends to be appointed treasurer, No need to confirm anymore of the Senate, taking both her and Yellen one step further to get their names on the US dollar.
Yellen has provided her official signature for that purpose in March 2021but it hasn’t appeared on cash yet because bureaucratic rules request that the signatures of the treasury secretary and treasurer be added to the new batch of coins at the same time.
The treasurer role has been vacant since Jovita Carranza left in January 2020 to become a Small Business Administrator in the Trump administration. That’s why the signature of former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin still appears on $1 bills.
It may still take a little longer for new names to replace him: A Treasury representative said New York Times that it can take up to four to five months to update the prints for each denomination.
But when that happens, the Biden administration says it will be reason to celebrate.
“For the first time in history, the signatures of two women will appear on our coins” tweeted White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
Elevating Native Americans to Leadership
Malerba supporters are cheering Biden’s announcement and noting the importance of having Native Americans in government leadership positions.
Fawn Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians, commended Biden’s choice and said the importance of Native American leadership, partnerships, and representation in the Treasury. cannot be exaggerated.”
Sharp added: “Much more needs to be done to enhance economic development opportunities, achieve comparable government tax rates for the Tribal States and address the capital needs of the Indian Nation. “The establishment of this office and the pending appointment of Sheriff Malerba are truly historic and positive steps towards these goals.”
Biden notably nominated Rep. Deb Haaland to lead the Interior Department, making her national First Native American cabinet secretary.
“By elevating Native American leaders to the highest levels of our federal government, they are taking the right steps to make our history of ignoring, silencing, and denying. Indigenous Peoples’ right to rest,” Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D- Ariz., Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement. “Representation matters, but representation in leadership is more important.”
