Tribal Chairman

Chairman Arlan Melendez

Arlan Melendez is the Chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. Chairman Melendez was first elected to the Tribal Council in 1987 and has served as Treasurer and Vice-Chairman before being elected Chairman in 1991. Mr. Melendez is one of the longest-serving Tribal Leaders in the State of Nevada , having served nineteen years on the Tribal Council, fifteen years of which Council membership have been as Chairman.

Arlan Melendez was recently appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights by U.S. Senator Harry Reid (NV). Mr. Melendez is only the second Native American ever to serve on the Civil Rights Commission, which was established in 1957 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In addition, Chairman Melendez is the past President of the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada and was Western Region Vice-President of the National Congress of American Indians. Chairman Melendez currently chairs the Taxation subcommittee for the National Congress of American Indians and is the Vice-President of the Inter- Tribal Council of Nevada .

Under the leadership of Chairman Melendez and his Tribal Council, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony has maintained a strong and stable Tribal Government to become one of the most progressive tribes in the State of Nevada . The Tribe has taken advantage of its strategic location within the metropolitan area of the cities of Reno and Sparks to create a viable economic tax base which has allowed the Tribe to purchase land and attract business development to the reservation.