Tom Rodgers facts for kids

Tom Rodgers (born July 28, 1960) is a Native American leader who works to help tribal communities. He lives in Washington, D.C.. Tom Rodgers is a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. In the Siksiká language, his name means "One who Rides his Horse East."

In 1994, Rodgers started Carlyle Consulting. This company helps Native American groups talk to the government and media. In 2023, Politico magazine named him one of the 40 most influential people working on issues of race and politics.

Tom Rodgers became an important voice for Native Americans in 2002. He helped investigate a lobbyist named Jack Abramoff. Abramoff had unfairly taken a lot of money from Native American tribes.

Since then, Rodgers has worked to help Native Americans vote. He wants to make sure people on remote reservations have an equal chance to vote. He also teaches people about the sad issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in the U.S. and Canada. More recently, he joined an effort to rename a mountain in Yellowstone National Park. The new name, First People's Mountain, would honor Native Americans and remove the name of a U.S. Army captain who harmed them.

Rodgers is also a key supporter in Washington for fair opportunities for Native Americans. He works to make sure they can use traditional plant medicines for healing. He strongly believes in returning the remains of Native American ancestors to their tribes. Currently, he is working to bring the remains of famous athlete Jim Thorpe back to his native land.

Helping Native Americans Vote

Tom Rodgers has called efforts to stop Native Americans from voting "the Jim Crow of the West." He played a big part in helping Native Americans register and vote in the 2016 and 2020 elections. For over ten years, Rodgers has used courts and laws to help. He works with groups that want to make voting easier.

His efforts have helped bring voter registration offices, voting booths, and ballot drop boxes to remote Native American reservations. This includes places in Arizona, Montana, and Nevada.

In 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder said that voting conditions for Native Americans in Montana were "unacceptable and outrageous." He added that the nation "will not simply stand by as the voices of Native Americans are shut out." Since then, Tom Rodgers and his allies have fought for Indigenous voting rights in court. They have received support from the Department of Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Congress of American Indians.

In 2015, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked Congress to make it easier for Native Americans to vote. Soon after, Senators Jon Tester, Heidi Heitkamp, Tom Udall, and Al Franken introduced a bill. This federal action made the fight for Native American voting rights even more important. In 2018, Senator Tester asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to set up satellite voting places on tribal lands.

In 2016, Rodgers also joined a legal effort to support the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. He worked to teach lawmakers in Washington, D.C., about the need to protect the water supply for the tribe. This was important because of concerns about the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Working for Native American Communities

From 1990 to 1993, Tom Rodgers worked for Senator Max Baucus on tax laws. Before that, he was a tax lawyer for Judge Marvin F. Peterson. Later, he started his own company, Carlyle Consulting. He has written about the ongoing poverty and high unemployment in Native American communities.

Rodgers created a scholarship at his old law school, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. It is called the Tom C. Rodgers O-tee-paym-soo-wuk Ethics in Government Scholarship. This scholarship helps Native American law students. "O-tee-paym-soo-wuk" means "a man who owns himself" in the Cree language. The scholarship helps students learn how to work in public policy and use ethics as their guide. The scholarship is worth about $160,000 over three years.

Rodgers has also raised over $1.2 million for charity. This money has gone to Native American youth, tribal governments, financial education programs, and voting rights efforts.

Exposing Jack Abramoff

After many years of helping "Indian Country," Tom Rodgers was contacted in 2002. Leaders from The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and The Saginaw Chippewa of Michigan reached out to him. They were worried about threats from their lobbyist, Jack Abramoff. They also felt they were paying too much for the services they received.

Rodgers worked with the tribal members to collect documents and invoices. He then shared these documents with reporters. This information was key in showing Abramoff's illegal actions. It led to the arrest of former Representative Bob Ney and helped force then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay to leave office. During this time, Tom Rodgers was helped by a lawyer for whistleblowers, Philip H. Hilder. After these events, Congress passed new, stronger ethics rules.

Rodgers has continued to follow Abramoff's actions. He has questioned Abramoff's claims of changing for the better. He also appeared in a documentary called Casino Jack and the United States of Money. This film by Alex Gibney was about Jack Abramoff's career and corruption. The University of Denver gave Rodgers an ethics award for his role in revealing Abramoff's crimes.

Rodgers has been interviewed by many news outlets about the Abramoff case and Native American rights. These include The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.

Early Life and Education

Tom Rodgers was born and grew up on the Great Plains near Glasgow, Montana. This area is known as a very isolated community. Rodgers earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics. He also received law degrees (J.D. and L.L.M. in Taxation) from the University of Denver. He then earned a Master's degree in International Public Policy, focusing on China, from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He also attended the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Executive MBA program. Rodgers believes in education and often speaks to high school and college students.