Washington ( CNN ) -- Efforts to strengthen Native American communities and improve their relationships with the federal government have already borne fruit , President Barack Obama told a group of leaders from more than 500 federally recognized tribes Thursday . `` We 're making progress , '' Obama said at the White House Tribal Nations Conference , the second of his administration . `` We 're moving forward . What I hope is , we 're seeing a turning point in the relationship between our nations . '' He said he wants to hear more from tribes about how that can be done , whether it 's through supporting education and health care on reservations , combating crime or job creation , `` and that 's why we 're here today . '' Leaders of 565 tribes were invited to the conference , the White House said . The president said his administration has tackled some of the largest issues faced by American Indian communities , helping to create infrastructure , eliminate bureaucratic barriers and boost public health on reservations , where tribal members face rates of diseases like tuberculosis at a far higher rate than the rest of the nation . The Justice Department , he said , is working to reform the criminal justice system on reservations . The Tribal Law and Order Act , signed by the president in July , contains measures to help fight drug and alcohol abuse on reservations , gives authorities better access to databases and improves opportunities for at-risk Native American youth . American Indians ' history has been `` too often marred by broken promises and grave injustices against the first Americans , '' Obama said . While he acknowledged that no words can undo the damage , he said his administration aims for action to match those words . Native Americans have been faced with a choice , he said -- abandon their heritage or accept a lesser lot in life . `` We know this is a false choice , '' he said . `` To accept it is to believe that we ca n't and wo n't do better , and I wo n't accept that . ''
Obama held his second White House Tribal Nations Conference . Leaders of 565 federally recognized tribes were present . Obama : ` ` Grave injustices '' have been done against American Indians .