Lynn Malerba, chief of the Mohegan Tribe, made history Monday when she took an oath of office as the nation’s 45th treasurer ― the first Native American to hold the office ― in a live-streamed ceremony in the Cash Room of the Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C.

“One of the great joys of my job is getting to swear exceptional leaders into office,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who administered the oath. “Not only because I gain a new colleague, but because the oath that they take is a sacred reminder to all of us that we assume the offices of public trust for one reason: to help and serve the public.”

“And sometimes, we also get to make history,” she added.

Malerba, 69, had been appointed treasurer by President Joe Biden on June 21, a day on which she accompanied Yellen on a visit to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The visit marked the first time in history that a Treasury secretary had visited a tribal nation.

“I was just feeling so honored and humbled to be the first Native American to become treasurer of the United States,” Malerba said in a phone interview after the ceremony. “It’s a real commitment on the part of the Biden-Harris administration to hear all voices.”

Malerba was named the Mohegan Tribe’s 18th chief in 2010, the first woman to hold the position in more than 300 years. A former chairwoman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, she joined tribal government after a long career as a registered nurse.

As treasurer, Malerba will lead the Treasury Department’s newly established Office of Tribal and Native Affairs as well as oversee the U.S. Mint, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Fort Knox as well as act as a liaison with the Federal Reserve. Malerba also will also serve as a senior adviser to the Treasury secretary in the areas of community development and public engagement.

Yellen said the tribal affairs office is charged with coordinating the Treasury Department’s tribal policy and engagement.

“We are establishing this office with Chief Malerba at the helm because we know that ― for all our progress ― there is more work to do to strengthen our nation-to-nation relationship with tribal governments,” she said. “Even before the pandemic hit, the poverty rate for Native Americans was twice the national average. Tribal citizens had a higher unemployment rate than any other racial group. These economic disparities were rooted in prior federal policy, and they were only exacerbated by COVID-19.”

“I believe we currently stand at an important moment in the relationship between the federal government and Indian Country,” Yellen said.

Malerba, emotional at times during her speech, said she was proud to lead the new tribal affairs office, whose creation, she said, tribes had long advocated.

“We will build on the successes of these past two years to ensure that policy reflects native voices and native communities,” she said. “We know that one size does not fit all. We know that when tribal leaders determine their priorities in concert with their communities, we serve our people properly with respect for our cultural traditions. We know that when barriers to economic development are eliminated, tribal communities will thrive and prosper. We know when there is tribal economic development, our local and state communities prosper as well.”

Malerba’s husband Paul, their two daughters, two sons-in-law and three grandchildren gathered on stage with her as she took the oath. Two of her sisters watched from the audience.

Also in attendance were Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary; former Treasurer Rosa Rios; members of the Mohegan Tribal Council and Council of Elders; and Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe.

“It was an honor to witness history on behalf of this country and Indian Country,” Butler said later in the day. “As distant cousins, we couldn’t be more proud of Chief Malerba’s accomplishment as the first Native American treasurer in our country’s nearly 250 years of existence. Being the original caretakers of this land, it feels like we have finally come full circle.”

After taking the oath and with Leonard Olijar, the director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, looking on, Malerba provided her official signature, which will appear on U.S. currency along with that of Yellen. It will be the first time in history the signatures of two women have appeared on the nation’s paper money.

Malerba signed “Lynn Roberge Malerba,” having abandoned consideration of “Chief Lynn Malerba” because, she said, she learned use of a title would violate Treasury protocol.

“I am emotional about signing this currency because I used my maiden name as part of my signature, which is Roberge, and that is my middle name,” she said during her remarks. “My parents raised seven children with so much love but a lot of financial hardship, and they struggled so greatly to provide for us but they did an amazing job. Imagine, now their name is on the currency when they found it so difficult to have any in their lifetime and so they are with me today.”

Malerba said it’s expected that the first bills carrying her and Yellen’s signatures will be produced in December at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s Forth Worth, Texas, facility. Her signature will first appear on $5 bills, she said.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com