Mashantucket ― While serving on the board of the United South and Eastern Tribes, Lynn Malerba long lobbied for better communication between the nonprofit, intertribal group and the federal government.

As U.S. treasurer, she’s in a position to guarantee that goal can be met.

Malerba, the Mohegan Tribe’s chief for life, spoke Tuesday during the USET’s annual conference at Foxwoods Resort Casino, nearly a month to the day after she was sworn in as treasurer, the first Native American to hold the position.

Newly printed currency will soon bear her signature, likely by the end of the year.

Malerba said she was required to step down from the USET board to accept her appointment by President Joe Biden as treasurer.

“I said ‘yes’ on behalf of all of us,” she told an audience that mostly included members of the 33 federally recognized tribes that make up the USET.

She said the USET’s stature has grown over the years and that she was “honored and excited” to be able to ensure native voices are heard at the highest levels. As treasurer, she will lead the new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs, whose creation Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced along with Malerba’s appointment during a visit to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota last June.

Malerba said it was important that Yellen hear first-hand the concerns of tribes. She noted that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARE, had provided $30 million in assistance to tribal communities in 2020, “the largest single infusion of federal funding to Indian Country” in history.

Some aid was left on the table because tribes were unaware of it or have been unable to access it.

Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket Pequot chairman, asked about a centralized resource tribal leaders could consult to stay abreast of what’s available.

Malerba promised better collaboration among federal agencies that deal with tribes, including Treasury, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Energy.

Ideally, she said, funds could be distributed directly to tribes without having to go through state governments, which currently is often the case.

A USET member said Malerba’s appointment as treasurer “gives us hope of better service in Washington.”

“Hopefully, you can get Andrew Jackson’s picture off ($20) bills,” the member said.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com