ARLINGTON, VA.

The day before he was confirmed as U.S. Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, D-Colo., sought to reassure tribal leaders that the Obama administration is serious about Native American issues and promised his department would work “hand in hand” with Indian communities.

In an address to more than 400 people at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City hotel here on Monday, Salazar promised that he and his boss, President-elect Barack Obama, would pay close attention to Indian Country and would listen to tribal leaders – unlike their predecessors.

“As we move forward to resolving those issues,” Salazar said, “we have to make sure that never again – like has happened in the last eight years – that the Native American community in the United States of America is left out of the tent."

Salazar, whose Latino roots in Colorado go back generations, spoke to tribal leaders gathered for a strategy session hosted by the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Gaming Association. The participants would spend much of the day discussing their legislative priorities in a meeting closed to the media, but, before they began their deliberations, Salazar showed up in what he said would be his only appearance before an organization until he is sworn into office.

‘Very High Priority Issue’

“I don't want to over-promise what we're going to do, but I'm going to tell you that it's going to be a very high priority issue” to try and resolve some of those issues, Salazar said.

Among the most pressing legislative concerns are the reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, trust reform that would overcome the tangle of land disputes now mired in the courts and bureaucracy, and the swift designation and confirmation of the assistant secretary for Indian affairs.

For his part, Salazar told the group he supported reauthorizing the health care bill and backing trust reform. He said he also had already selected the person who would focus on Native issues in the Interior Department but added that he could not yet divulge the person's name, although Salazar predicted that tribal leaders would be “very proud” of the choice.