Press Release

30 Days in Office 

June 22, 2021 

Dear Caddo Nation Members, 

During my first 30-days as your Chairman, I am honored to have had the opportunity to meet with so many well-wishers and supporters of our great Caddo Nation. Over the last weeks I’ve had the privilege of meeting with tribal members, tribal leaders, and business leaders from all over the United States. These conversations are important to our Nation as we continue to lay groundwork and build upon the legacy of previous Administrations.

My first week in office, the Caddo Nation received notification from the U.S. Department of Treasury about the availability of American Rescue Plan funds. We immediately began the arduous process of changing over the points of contact and authorized agents that’s required for the Nation to apply for this new round of funding. This was in addition to important tasks that were awaiting the new Administration at Caddo Nation headquarters, including: ongoing construction projects; inadvertent burial discoveries of our ancestors; inadequate staffing, and numerous other issues that required immediate attention. The Caddo Nation was eventually awarded $32,921,485.70 of American Rescue Plan funds on May 28.

I would like to recognize our staff who have taken on additional responsibilities in order to support and meet the needs of our tribal members during this time. Without their ongoing hard work and dedication, it would’ve been impossible to keep tribal operations running. While I do realize there’s been some setbacks, the Tribal Council and I appreciate the patience everyone has shown during these weeks of transition.  

I truly appreciate the important conversations and feedback that’s been received by my office. I will keep these conversations in mind as we move forward to identify programs and services that will deliver the level of assistance our tribal members deserve.  

Our future continues to look brighter each and every day!

Bobby Gonzalez
Principal Executive Officer
Chairman of the Caddo Nation

On behalf of the Tribal Council, I submit the following activity report for the first 30-days of my Administration. Read More...

 American Rescue Plan Act Update 

June 16, 2021

The Tribal Government is actively creating a plan for use of the  American Rescue Plan funds in a manner that is consistent with federal law. This plan will have a long-term positive results related to the health and welfare of the Caddo people. 

The American Rescue Plan Act sets out the categories of spending that tribal governments can lawfully pursue with their allocations. 

1. To respond to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality;
2. to respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers of that State, territory, or Tribal government that are performing such essential work or by providing grants to eligible employers that have eligible workers who perform essential work; 
3. for the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such State, territory, or Tribal governments due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year of the State,  territory, or Tribal government prior to the emergency; or 
4. to make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure 

Tribes have been cautioned:

"A first consideration is the fact that blanket per capita, 'no strings' payments that cannot be linked directly to the burdens of the pandemic may not be lawful under ARPA. Even absent that constraint, the evidence from across Indian Country points away from undifferentiated and large per capita distributions when community development and nation rebuilding are priorities for a tribe. While understandably politically attractive, Indian Country can point to case after case in which financial settlements or payouts have been distributed, dissipated, and thus lost to the larger goals of community revitalization." - Executive Summary by Harvard Law funding of American Rescue Plan Act for American Indian Tribal Governments  

Bobby Gonzalez, Principal Executive Officer 

Chairman of the Caddo Nation