ROCK HILL, SC – Chief Brian Harris, joined by Tribal Administrator Ashley Sexton and Executive Director of Planning & Development Denise Bryson, signed the Catawba Nation’s first compact under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program (TTSGP). The Catawba Nation is the fifth of 574 federally recognized tribes to sign a compact with USDOT.
“We are proud to announce this first-of-its-kind self-governance compact for the Catawba Nation,” said Chief Harris. “It gives the tribe decision-making authority and flexibility over federal funds for transportation projects and transit operations to improve safety and create better connections across Catawba Nation.”
The signing is the culmination of dialogue between USDOT Assistant Secretary of Tribal Affairs Arlando Teller, Director of Tribal Affairs Office of the Secretary-Tribal Government Affairs Milo Booth, Senior Tribal Affairs Advisor Eldridge Onco, and the Catawba Nation for a period of 17 months.
This program, which USDOT established in 2020, follows the model that the Departments of the Interior and Health and Human Services have set forth with their tribal self-governance programs, which have been in place for the last two decades.
