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#Trump’s federal cuts threaten #Indigenous communities

They told U.S. House lawmakers that the administration’s “chainsaw approach” to government cuts will disproportionately harm #IndianCountry

by Shondiin Silversmith, Mar 6, 2025

"From securing funding for #IndianHealth Services and ongoing #WaterSettlements to increasing investments in infrastructure, education and law enforcement, many Indigenous leaders and organizations are raising the alarm about the devastation that federal funding cuts could bring for #NativeAmericans.

"More than 60 tribal leaders and organizations from across Indian Country testified over three days to a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee on the federal funding needs of Indigenous people and their communities nationwide.

"'I know there’s never enough funding to go around,' Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said, and he appreciates how the subcommittee has consistently set aside several days to hear Indian Country’s funding priorities.

"'It is the process that starts the funding decisions for tribal programs, staffing and priorities for this administration,' he added. Tribal leaders and organizations gave five-minute testimonies to the subcommittee from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27.

"Lewis used his five minutes to discuss the Trump administration’s actions and their impact on his community.

"There is 'real fear' within tribal communities about what is happening in Washington, D.C., he said, referencing the freezing of federal funding and the mass firing of federal employees across the government.

[...]

"He added that the cuts are being made without considering how they will impact services. Rather than making the government more efficient and effective, it is 'creating a federal workforce that is paralyzed by fear.'

"Lewis called the administration’s actions #destabilizing and said they will have a disproportionate impact on Indian Country.

"'The government-to-government relationship is only as strong as our federal partner,' he said. 'And right now, there is a real concern that the federal side of this partnership has the real potential of being dismantled.'"

Read more:
https://ictnews.org/news/tribal-leaders-sound-alarm-as-trumps-federal-cuts-threaten-indigenous-communities-
#USPol #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #AirIsLife #RespectTheTreaties #USGovtCleanUpYourMess #UraniumMining #UraniumMilling #IndigenousHealth #IndigenousNews #BadDOGE #DOGE #HealthCare