Tara Sweeney

Tara MacLean Sweeney (born July 28, 1973) is an Iñupiaq American businesswoman and former government official who served as assistant secretary of the interior for Native American affairs from July 2018 to January 2021.

Sweeney previously served in Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski's cabinet.

In 2022, she unsuccessfully ran to represent Alaska in the United States House of Representatives.

A daughter of Bryan MacLean, a teacher, and Eileen MacLean (née Panigeo), who served as a Democratic member of the Alaska Legislature.

Of Iñupiaq descent, she is a citizen of the Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government.

One of her ancestors translated the Bible into the Inupiaq language.

Sweeney grew up in the towns of Wainwright, Bethel, Unalakleet, Utqiagvik in rural Alaska.

In 1991, she graduated from Barrow High School.

Sweeney attended Cornell University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial and labor relations in 1998.

For almost two decades she has worked for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) with subsidiaries, in various positions, the last being as Executive Vice President of External Affair where she served as the company's spokesperson.

In this capacity, she has advocated for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling.

She has a birthright co-ownership in the company.

In 2003, Sweeney joined the cabinet of Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski as Special Assistant for Rural Affairs and Education.

She started a one-year term as co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives in October 2013.

During the 2014 United States Senate election in Alaska, Sweeney served as co-chair of Republican Dan Sullivan's Senate campaign, stating that the Democratic Senate Majority "feverishly worked on an agenda that stifled growth and economic opportunities in Alaska".

From 2015 to 2017, Sweeney served as chair of the Arctic Economic Council as a representative of the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

In October 2017, Sweeney was nominated by President Donald Trump as assistant secretary for Indian affairs.

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs unanimously recommended a full vote in the Senate, and she was unanimously confirmed in June 2018.

During her confirmation hearing, she pledged to recuse herself from issues involving the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation.

She is the first Alaska Native and second woman to oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

As assistant secretary, she faced calls for her resignation over the inclusion of for-profit Alaska Native owned corporations to directly compete with funding set aside for native governments dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

As Assistant Secretary, Sweeney wrote an op-ed endorsing Sullivan's reelection in 2020, arguing that Sullivan's opponent Al Gross supported "national Democrats' own radical, anti-Alaska agenda".

On April 28, 2020 a federal court blocked the inclusion of Alaska Native owned corporations from receiving federal stimulus money earmarked for tribal governments.

The Supreme Court heard the case on appeal and, in June 2021, reversed the lower court's decision, agreeing that the 12 Alaska Native Regional Corporations were indeed eligible for the CARES Act funding along with the tribes.

In 2022, after longtime U.S. Congressman Don Young's death in office, Sweeney was one of many candidates to file to run both in the special election to complete the remainder of his unexpired term and the subsequent regularly-scheduled election to be held in November for a full-term.

The special election was the first under Alaska's new election system, in which the top four finishers of a nonpartisan primary election advance to a general election held using instant runoff voting.

This system was also utilized in the regularly-scheduled election.

Sweeney was described by some news outlets to be running as a moderate Republican.

Iris Samuels of The Anchorage Daily News described her as running, "on a pro-development, socially moderate platform, saying she supports abortion access."

Sweeney received support from the largest Alaska Native corporations.

Sweeney finished fifth in the primary election for the special election.

After fourth-place primary finisher Al Gross withdrew his candidacy from the special election, there was an effort to have Sweeney replace him on the general election ballot.

The Division of Elections issued a ruling that Sweeney could not be placed on the ballot for the special general election because Gross withdrew within 64 days of the election.

This ruling survived a challenge before the Alaska Supreme Court.

After this legal effort by her supporters failed, Sweeney did not protest the outcome.

Sweeney ran instead as a write-in candidate in the special general election.

Her write-in effort in the August 16, 2022 special general election was unsuccessful.

Also on August 16, 2022, Sweeney placed a distant fourth in the nonpartisan primary for the regularly-scheduled election, qualifying for its November general election.

She received less than 4% of the vote in this primary.

Believing that her weak finish indicated a lack of a viable path to victory in the general election, and citing fundraising difficulties, Sweeney soon ended her candidacy.