Serving All Our Nations

The goal of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) is to promote economic and social self-sufficiency for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. For several of our team, their work is personal as well as a professional, because they come from some of the Native communities we serve. To close Native American Heritage Month, we wanted to share some insights from two members of our team on how they serve all Native nations, not just their own.

Carmelia (Mia) Strickland is the director of ANA’s Division of Program Operations (DPO). She is a member of the state-recognized Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and has made a career of serving Native communities with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the Department of Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services

Her greatest accomplishment at ANA is overseeing the discretionary grant funding for Native communities.

“Every year, we give out millions of dollars to help improve Native communities, to provide funding for the projects they asked for,” Mia points out. It is because we listen to the needs of each awarded community that ANA funds a diverse range of projects, and we have made it a point to have grantees design and implement the projects they feel are most important for their community’s self-sufficiency and health. Funding projects that can range from Native language instruction to strengthening families requires help, as Mia points out. “There are lots of steps and partners that support or coordinate with us to make it happen. It’s definitely a team effort and sometimes frustrating but it’s rewarding to know that our efforts provide native language instruction, protect of environmental resources, or create opportunities for youth leadership or economic development in communities that need it.”

Jordan Daniel, a Program Specialist, is on Mia’s Program Operations team. She’s also a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate, Lower Men Nation, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. She began serving Native communities while still in school, working for the Penobscot Indian Nation. Jordan has also worked at the non-profit Four Directions Development Corporation, the National Indian Health Board, and volunteered for the Center for Native American Youth.

Jordan’s goal in working with ANA is “to always help influence and improve Native communities, so that the next seven generations have the opportunities they need to be successful.”

She wants to be a visible and effective advocate on regarding all Federal policies affecting Native Americans. “I am here to support Native communities as they take the initiative to make changes. And, I’m also here to ensure sustainability past grant funding is there, so that Native communities are the drivers of their own cultural and economic development.”

Mia and Jordan are examples of the dedication that each member of the ANA staff brings to serving our nations — carrying out our mission with empathy, insight, and the drive to always do more.

Learn more about ANA’s staff, and read about our grants, news, and events to keep up with the latest opportunities.