1. Tara MacLean Sweeney was born on July 28,1973 and is an American businesswoman and former political appointee who served as assistant secretary of the interior for Native American affairs from July 2018 to January 2021.
17 Facts About Tara Sweeney
1. 2.
Tara Sweeney is a citizen of the Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government.
3.
Tara Sweeney grew up in the towns of Wainwright, Bethel, Unalakleet, and Utqiagvik in rural Alaska.
4.
Tara Sweeney attended Cornell University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial and labor relations in 1998.
5.
In October 2013, Tara Sweeney started a one-year term as co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives.
6.
From 2015 to 2017, Tara Sweeney served as chair of the Arctic Economic Council as a representative of the Inuit Circumpolar Council.
7.
In 2003, Tara Sweeney joined the cabinet of Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski as Special Assistant for Rural Affairs and Education.
8.
Tara Sweeney said that the Democratic Senate majority "feverishly worked on an agenda that stifled growth and economic opportunities in Alaska".
9.
Tara Sweeney said that Sullivan's opponent Al Gross, who ran as an independent but was endorsed by the Democratic Party, supported "national Democrats' own radical, anti-Alaska agenda".
10.
In October 2017, Tara Sweeney was nominated by President Donald Trump as assistant secretary for Indian affairs.
11.
Tara Sweeney is the first Alaska Native and second woman to oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
12.
Tara Sweeney had proposed that federal stimulus funds earmarked for tribal governments should be available to the for-profit Alaska Native-owned corporations.
13.
In 2022, after US Congressman Don Young's death in office, Tara Sweeney was one of many candidates to file to run both in the special election to complete the remainder of his unexpired term, and the subsequent regularly scheduled election to be held in November for a full-term.
14.
Tara Sweeney finished fifth in the primary election for the special election.
15.
Tara Sweeney instead ran as a write-in candidate in the special general election.
16.
Tara Sweeney is married to Kevin Tara Sweeney, a former aide to Senator Lisa Murkowski.
17.
Tara Sweeney had a role in the 2011 film On the Ice.