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among the United States and tribal governments. The leaders of 30 federal departments and agencies will serve on the council, which is charged with aiding tribes with economic development, transportation, housing and health care.
• "My boss in the Oval Office cares deeply about you," she told the gathering Thursday in explaining how leaders in a variety of Cabinet agencies will work more closely on issues important to tribes.
• Arlen Melendez, chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and a former member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, said Jewell's upbringing in the Pacific Northwest and her connection to the environment struck a chord with tribal leaders, who seemed "very pleased" with what she said.
• "I think a lot of the tribes didn't really know who she was, but listening to her, I think they can be confident she's going to be really good for Indian Country," Melendez said in an interview after the speech.
• Jewell told the gathering her family moved to Seattle from England just before she turned 4. Some of her earliest memories included proudly wearing a tribal mask made of cardboard when they would go to Blake Island in Puget Sound "to watch the Indian dancers."

• "The introduction to tribal culture -- even though that is sort of a tourist thing, it actually is a very powerful and spiritual thing as well," she said.
• Later, she became attuned to the large population of homeless people in downtown Seattle -- "largely Indians."
• "The contrast between the pride and the history of Native people in Seattle with the reality on the ground was very striking," she said.
• Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians and lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, said he agreed that Jewell is well-positioned to build on better relations that began in Obama's first term.
• "We believe that chapter -- and that door -- is wide open now and will lead to a new level of understanding in this nation-to-nation relationship," Keel said.
•

• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A department secretary's report on the South Dakota Division of Insurance is recommending increased oversight from supervisors and the secretary, better staff communication and a new informal settlement process, state officials said Thursday.
• Gov. Dennis Daugaard earlier this month requested the report from Department

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