SAIGE Annual Report

2004

Board of Directors’ Accomplishments:

Organizational/Administration:

SAIGE website up and running at www.saige.org

Conducted monthly conference call meetings of the board and a face-to-face meeting at the conference of those able to attend.

Office of Personnel Management recognized SAIGE and endorsed the first training conference.

Gained nearly 50 new members and have a high rate of renewals.

Participated as an Organization in the Smithsonian Procession opening the Museum of the American Indian, Sept. 21, 2004

Began conducting an election for the next board of directors: solicitation of nominees, establishing procedures for email balloting, etc. Although slightly delayed, the election will be completed in early Jan 2005.

Modified bylaws to allow rotation of half the board members each year to maintain organizational knowledge on the board and continuity of action on issues before the board.

Addressed the Following goals:

Promote recruitment, hiring, retention, development, and advancement of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the government workforce.

Circulated employment opportunities on listserver.

To serve as a central point of contact for receiving and disseminating timely information about conferences, training, Federal and tribal programs and organizations, and other relevant American Indian, Alaska Native, and federal government issues and activities.

Circulated information concerning conferences, training, etc. via the listserver.

Work toward equitable and fair treatment of American Indians and Alaska Natives in government departments and agencies by working to eliminate elements of racism in accordance with federal laws, regulations, Executive Orders, and internal policies.

Met twice with the Regional Administrator, Capitol Region, of the GSA regarding offensive murals in the EPA building in Washington, DC. He accepted SAIGE’s invitation to speak at our conference, and explained the current status. However, no resolution has been attained, despite support of the passing of a resolution at the National Congress of American Indians convention in October of 2004 condemning the murals.

Coordinate and develop national and regional training for Federal employees on American Indian and Alaska Native issues and their relation to the federal government using internal resources and partnerships with private organizations.

Organized and developed SAIGE’s first Annual Conference in conjunction with NCAI Convention held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, October 8 & 9, 2004. Established registration though a commercial site that also greatly simplified this procedure for our conference committee and participants. The first annual conference was successfully and profitably completed and was supported by: Nike, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Surface Mining. Many new members joined by attending the conference.