[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 43 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING VERNA TELLER

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 13, 2015

  Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today 
to honor Verna Teller, a remarkable woman whose steadfast political 
leadership and tireless civic activism has had a lasting impact on the 
people in her community.
  In March of each year, we celebrate Women's History month to honor 
women who have made invaluable contributions to their communities and 
the world. Verna is one such woman. Verna has never tired of fighting 
for the community she loves. In the face of gender discrimination, 
Verna ushered in a new era of leadership, becoming the first female 
governor of Isleta Pueblo in 1987. By spearheading passage of a 
constitutional amendment requiring tribal leadership positions to be 
elected, as well as fighting to make tribal council meetings more open 
and accessible, Verna ensured that women's voices were not only heard 
but amplified within the Pueblo community.
  Following her tenure as governor, Verna continued to serve Isleta 
Pueblo as Chief Justice, President of the Tribal Council, and council 
member. Under her watchful guidance, Isleta Pueblo became the first 
tribe in the United States to assert their right under federal law to 
establish water quality standards to protect their community.
  Verna went on to serve as project manager for the Native Peoples-
Native Homelands Southwest Initiative, a project sponsored by the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to examine the 
effects of climate change on Native Americans. As Project Director for 
Tribal Tobacco Health, Education and Outreach, Verna helped develop 
cancer prevention programs through Indian Health Services, the Centers 
for Disease Control, and the American Cancer Society. She also ran a 
consulting business, ATV Enterprises; served as a member of the All 
Indian Pueblo Council; was named ``Indian Woman of the Year;'' and has 
received numerous other accolades.
  It is astonishing to think of all that Verna has accomplished in her 
life. In the face of adversity, discrimination, and uncertainty, 
Verna's determination to lead her community never faltered. As Eleanor 
Roosevelt once said: ``We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by 
each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face--we 
must do that which we think we cannot.'' Verna's enduring legacy of 
community development, service and sacrifice will continue to be an 
inspiration for future generations of young women.

                          ____________________