Bryan Todd Newland is an American attorney and tribal leader serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs.

Early life and education

Newland was born and raised in the

Bay Mills Indian Community The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC) (Ojibwe: Gnoozhekaaning, lit. "Place of the Pike"), is an Indian reservation forming the land base of one of the many federally recognized Sault Ste. Marie bands of Chippewa (aka Ojibwa). The largest section ...

, located in

Chippewa County, Michigan Chippewa County is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 36,785. The county seat is Sault Ste. Marie. The county is named for the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people, and was set off an ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social relations from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in Indian law from the

Michigan State University College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the fi ...

Career

From 2009 to 2012, Newland served as a senior advisor to the assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian affairs. He then joined the Fletcher Law Firm in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

. He served as chief judge of the

from 2013 to 2017 and as tribal chair from 2017 to 2021. He was also a regent of the

Bay Mills Community College Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) is a public tribal land-grant community college in Brimley, Michigan. It is chartered by the federally recognized Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan with a total enrollment of approximately 500 on-campus an ...

from 2016 to 2021. In 2020, Newland wrote an op-ed endorsing Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign, arguing Buttigieg "speaks to issues important to Tribal Nations and our citizens."

Interior Department Nomination

Newland was formally nominated by President Joe Biden to lead the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

on April 22, 2021. His nomination was endorsed by the

National Congress of American Indians The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is an American Indian and Alaska Native rights organization. It was founded in 1944 to represent the tribes and resist federal government pressure for termination of tribal rights and assimilati ...

(NCAI) and members of the

United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 19 ...

. Hearings on his nomination were held before the

on June 9, 2021. The committee favorably reported his nomination to the Senate floor on July 14, 2021. The Senate confirmed Newland's nomination on August 7, 2021, via

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. Newland was sworn into the position in September 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newland, Bryan Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Chippewa County, Michigan Michigan State University alumni Michigan State University College of Law alumni Michigan lawyers United States Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel Obama administration personnel Biden administration personnel Native American people from Michigan Native American lawyers