Native American Heritage Month Spotlight Chairman Arlan D Melendez
This month, in celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we will be highlighting some of the many remarkable contributors to Indian country. In no way is this list comprehensive or extensive. For the next few weeks we will present a brief biography a day.
Arlan D. Melendez, the longest serving Chairman in Nevada.
Arlan D. Melendez is the Chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, a position he has held for over 25-years. His uninterrupted leadership is unprecedented in Indian Country as are his appointments to federal, state, and tribal government posts.
A United States Marine Corps Veteran, Melendez just received life-time achievement awards from the Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA) and the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) for his significant contributions to these national organizations. In addition, Chairman Melendez was appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding federal agency whose mission is to inform the development of national civil rights policy and enhance enforcement of federal civil rights laws.
Chairman Melendez is the past president of the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada (ITCN) and was Western Region Vice-President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) for three different terms. Chairman Melendez currently chairs the taxation subcommittee for the NCAI and was appointed by Governor Brian Sandoval to the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee. Chairman Melendez also serves on the U.S. Health and Human Services’ National Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC) as well as the Phoenix Area Tribal Health Steering Committee.
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