Watchman tells Congress tribal economic programs need fixes
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Derrick Watchman, the chairman of the board for The National Center for American Indian Economic Development, testifies before the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs during a hearing in Washington, D.C., Feb. 3, 2026.
By Donovan Quintero
Special to the Times
WINDOW ROCK – Derrick Watchman told a House subcommittee that federal economic development programs in Indian Country need legislative and administrative changes to work more smoothly for tribes and Native entrepreneurs.
Watchman, Diné, the chairman of the board of The National Center for American Indian Economic Development, testified Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at a House Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee hearing titled “Making Federal Economic Development Programs Work in Indian Country.” He was invited to testify on behalf of The National Center by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., the ranking member of the panel.
Other witnesses included Hope Silvas, the chairwoman of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, Rodney Butler, the chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and a board leader with the Native American Finance Officers Association, and Haven Harris, the co-chair of the board of the Native American Contractors Association.
To read the full article, please see the Feb. 5, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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