Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney has announced two appointments. Tammie Poitra has been named regional director of the Midwest Bureau of Indian Affairs. Timothy LaPointe has been named director of the Great Plains Region.
“It is with great pride that I name Tammie Poitra as the Midwest BIA regional director,” said Sweeney.” I have the utmost confidence in her leadership capabilities to work with the 36 tribes and the staff that comprises the regional office and the four BIA agencies.”
An enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Poitra had served as deputy regional director for Trust Services in the Midwest Region since July 2010. She has more than 33 years of combined federal service. In 2018, she served as acting director of the Northwest Region. Previously she served as the superintendent of the BIA Winnebago Agency. From 1995 to 2000, she was the fiduciary trust officer and trust accountant for the Northwest Region with the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and also worked as the Midwest regional budget officer from 2000 to 2004.
Poitra holds an associate’s degree in computer programming from the North Dakota State School and Science and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting. She attended a University of Phoenix master’s degree program. Poitra stated, “It is a great honor to become the Midwest BIA regional director. I have a great commitment to the bureau’s mission and I look forward to carrying out our trust responsibilities for the tribes in our region.”
Regarding LaPointe’s appointment, Sweeney stated, “I am confident in Timothy LaPointe’s commitment to Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Great Plains Region. He has expertise in managing staff, programs and services, which has the potential to return the highest yield to the tribal communities that we serve.”
A member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, LaPointe returns to the Great Plains Regional Office after serving as the Midwest regional director. From February 2011 to November 2014, LaPointe was deputy regional director of Trust Services for the Great Plains Region and was promoted to regional director. He was one of the first Fiduciary Trust officers for the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and also served as the FTO for the BIA Great Lakes Agency.
LaPointe holds a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas and a bachelor’s degree from the University of the Ozarks, where he majored in public administration with a minor in accounting. “I am committed to carrying out the mission and trust responsibility of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the 16 tribes in the BIA Great Plains Region. I am proud to return as the leader for a great office and a great team.”
BIA Director Darryl LaCounte said, “Cultivating a qualified pool of executives with managerial expertise to serve in a variety of leadership roles when needed is crucial to the future of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Among our top priorities is to fill BIA’s leadership positions with highly qualified managers who will provide continuity and expertise in trust management in accordance with the BIA mission.”
