Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan announced today the appointment of David J. Matheson a former chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, as Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs effective May 20
"Dave Matheson has an outstanding record of leadership in Indian affairs in the federal government, as a tribal official and in the private sector," Lujan said. "He is especially well equipped to stimulate much needed economic development on tribal lands across America."
Matheson has served in the Office of the Secretary of the Interior for the past 14 months, first as a Special Assistant and more recently as the Director of the Office of Construction Management.
During his term as chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, 1981-1985, Matheson was appointed to the Presidential Commission on Reservation Economies. Matheson also served his' tribe as Chief Executive Officer of Coeur d'Alene Development Corp., as Director of the Division of Planning and Natural Resources, and as an economic planner.
As Chief Executive Office of Puyallup International, Inc., of the Puyallup Indian Nation from 1985 to 1989, Matheson negotiated an international trade agreement with the Peoples Republic of China, arranged financing and management for a 2,500-seat bingo palace and participated in settlement of a $160 million land title dispute.
As Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Matheson will have responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the largest bureau in the Department of the Interior with more than 14,000 employees nationwide.
Matheson, a native of Plummer, Idaho, earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Washington in 1989. He and his wife, Jenny, have five children and reside in Falls Church, Virginia.
