Fifteen months after taking office, President William Jefferson Clinton made history by inviting tribal leaders to the White House.
Of the 556 leaders invited, 322 attended the meeting, during which Clinton fielded questions about economic development, tribal sovereignty, health care, education and government-to-government relationships. The April 1994 event marked the first time since 1822 tribal leaders were invited to meet directly with a sitting president of the United States.
In an afternoon speech delivered on the South Lawn, Clinton reaffirmed Native rights to self-determination.