Jesse

Jesse Renteria

Jesse Renteria is a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe from Pine Ridge, South Dakota.  Jesse has extensive experience advocating on behalf of tribal governments and organizations.  He regularly assists tribes in developing federal strategies to achieve their objectives in a wide range of areas, including education, housing, healthcare, law enforcement, cultural and language preservation, and infrastructure and economic development.  He helps achieve these objectives through collaboration and communication with national organizations, Congress, federal agencies, and tribal, state and local officials.

Jesse was a Public Policy Fellow for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. As a Fellow, Jesse worked in the Office of Workforce Diversity and in the Congressional Research Service (CRS) Division for the Library of Congress.

Jesse also served as the acting Public Relations Director for the National Indian Gaming Association where he helped develop strategic communications plans on behalf of the organization.

Jesse graduated from Creighton University with a B.A. where he received the Alan M. Schleich Award for the top history major and the Spirit of Creighton Award conferred upon the top graduate at commencement. While at Creighton, Jesse spent time abroad teaching English in various Haitian refugee camps.  As part of this program, he also worked in a school for disabled children in the Dominican Republic.  Jesse also attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, for graduate studies in History.  During this time, Jesse served as a middle school teacher on the Tohono O’Odham Nation’s Reservation near Tucson, Arizona.

Jesse has provided published writings for a Smithsonian-sponsored project at the Center of Southwest Studies in Durango, Colorado.  The National Museum of the American Indian displayed this exhibit during its grand opening, and the exhibit is currently on tour.