WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is planning what it says will be the first-ever gathering of tribal youth in Washington.

The July 9 event will give American Indian and Alaska Native youth from across the U.S. a chance to meet with senior members of President Barack Obama's administration, along with members of the White House Council on Native American Affairs.

The gathering is part of an initiative Obama launched last year to improve the lives of American Indian youth nationwide.

Last summer, Obama became just the third sitting U.S. president in eight decades to set foot in Indian country when he and his wife, Michelle, visited the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Cannon Ball, North Dakota.