Member of Oklahoma’s Kiowa Tribe named to Interior post

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma has been named to a leadership post in the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced Wednesday that John Tahsuda III has been appointed the principal deputy assistant secretary for Indian Affairs. Tahsuda will be the top assistant and principal adviser to the assistant secretary of Indian Affairs.

Tahsuda joins the department from Washington-based Navigators Global, LLC, where he was an advocate and legal counselor on policies affecting tribes, including casinos, tobacco sales, trust issues, health care, economic development, insurance, energy and emergency management. He holds a law degree from Cornell Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University.