The FCC has selected the program manager for Native American and International Affairs at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to serve as its new chief of ONAP — the Office of Native Affairs and Policy.
Matthew Duchesne takes the post and reports to Patrick Webre, acting chief of the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. “He brings leadership, vision and a wide range of policy making and practical experience that will be key to enhancing the Commission’s engagement with Native Nations,” Webre said.
Duchesne succeeds acting chief Lyle Ishida.
The Office of Native Affairs and Policy serves as the Commission’s catalyst to help improve the level of broadband, telecommunications, and broadcast deployment throughout Indian country.
The office represents the FCC in government-to-government consultation with sovereign Tribal nations, works with other FCC offices and bureaus to develop and implement policies for assisting Native communities, and ensures that Native concerns and voices are considered in all relevant Commission proceedings and initiatives.
At the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Duchesne led the agency’s work related to Tribal consultation and negotiation of settlements associated with Tribal water rights claims in the western United States.
Duchesne has also worked as a senior policy official at the Department of Energy with a portfolio that included serving as a negotiator with Tribal and state governments on behalf of the Federal government. He served as a Brookings Institution legislative fellow with Rep. Chellie Pingree and Sen. Ron Wyden, and served as a Supreme Court fellow in the office of the late U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
