- Sequoyah Simermeyer has been confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) for a term of three years.
The announcement was made by the office of Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
“The Senate has confirmed Mr. Simermeyer, which will enable him to continue the work of regulating and monitoring tribal gaming,” said Hoeven. “Mr. Simermeyer’s legal experience and knowledge of Indian gaming enables him to effectively oversee the NIGC and uphold the integrity of the commission.”
Simermeyer replaces Jonadev Chaudhuri, who was appointed by President Obama, and served almost five years as chairman.
Prior to be nominating this past July for the post, he served as a commissioner and the director of self-regulation for the NIGC, where Simermeyer worked with federal, state, and tribal bodies on national gaming regulatory policy and compliance as well as self-regulation petitions.
Simermeyer formerly advised the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and served as the deputy chief of staff and as a counselor to the Department of the Interior’s assistant secretary for Indian affairs. He also advocated on national and international policy issues with the National Congress of American Indians and holds a law degree from Cornell Law School.
The Indian Affairs Committee has jurisdiction to consider the nomination of the NIGC Chair and approved Simermeyer’s nomination on July 31, 2019.
