Message from the Chief
Tribal Government Statement on President Trump’s Executive Orders
UPDATE: We have been notified within the past hour that the Trump Administration have rescinded their spending freeze order. It looks like there is no threat at the moment but will continue to monitor and be diligent on this issue. Thank you all.
Dear citizens and employees,
There has been much news and speculation about the recent Executive Orders issued by President Trump and their potential impacts on Tribal Nations. We are working closely with our lawyers and consultants to evaluate each Order and whether it will impact our government, our people, or the services we provide.
Several of President Trump’s Executive Orders focused on curtailing illegal immigration. We understand that the implementation of these orders has led to some Native Americans being stopped by law enforcement and asked for proof of citizenship. We are not aware of any of our Tribal citizens being stopped but have heard of instances in other Tribes. We encourage all Tribal citizens to carry your Tribal ID, as we understand that your Tribal ID is sufficient proof of citizenship. Contact the Tribal office if you need a new Tribal ID or encounter any problems.
President Trump also issued several Executive Orders seeking to eliminate federal funds from being used for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, “transgenderism,” “green new deal social engineering policies,” and environmental justice programs. The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a directive to all federal agencies to temporarily pause all federal funding, to the extent permissible by law, until a comprehensive analysis of all federal funding programs can be completed. Many federal agencies took a broad reading of this directive and stopped all funding, and the White House has clarified that Medicare, Social Security benefits, and any other federal assistance provided directly to individuals are not covered by the funding freeze. This directive was to become effective at 5:00pm on January 28, but a federal court has paused the directive until February 3 to consider legal arguments on whether the directive should be further paused.
We are working with our program directors, lawyers, consultants and Congressional Members to obtain clarification that all federal programs designed for Tribal governments are exempt from any funding freeze. Tribal governments are political entities with a government-to-government relationship with the federal government. The federal government has a trust and treaty obligation to us and the various federal programs for Tribal governments are intended to meet those obligations. We do not believe that Tribal government programs were intended to be covered by President Trump’s Executive Orders, and we are working to confirm that understanding.
Kirk.