“ Given the federal government ’ s long history of mistreatment of tribal nations over decades , tribal nations are wise to build strong relationships with every new administration .”
In subsequent years , the federal attitude toward Native Americans has ebbed and flowed depending upon the administrations . The Biden administration appointed the first Native American to head the entire Department of the Interior , Deb Haaland , a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna of New Mexico .
So , since Donald Trump returned to power as a result of the 2024 elections , there have been conflicting views of what he might do to — and for — Indian Country .
Grants and Loans
Transitions between administrations can often be uneven and uncomfortable . Jana McKeag , president of Lowry Strategies , and one of the original members of the National Indian Gaming Commission ( NIGC ) in the early 1990s , along with Chairman Tony Hope and Joel Franks , has seen many such transitions .
“ This transition is going to be different from other transitions ,” she says , “ because you usually don ’ t walk in and then fire people right away . You just don ’ t go in and slash and burn . The probationary people are low-hanging fruit , because they don ’ t have protections that permanent employees have . But you look at performance evaluations before you do that , and you do fire the people who are not doing their jobs .”
One of the first things the Trump administration did was to empower the Department Of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) to go through the books in every department to determine where the money is going . To effectively identify wasteful spending , the administration froze all federal expenditures on grants and loans . Since tribal governments largely depend upon federal funding , this could be problematic for them depending upon how long the freeze lasts .
Mark Vargas is a strategic communications and government affairs adviser who works with tribes and organizations in Washington , D . C . He hopes the freeze won ’ t last long .
“ American Indian tribal governments are working with the administration to unfreeze federal grant funding under the Office of Management and Budget memorandum rescinding the federal freeze ,” he explains .
“ National organizations like the National Congress of American Indians ( NCAI ) and the Coalition of Large Tribes ( COLT ) are working with the Congress to document where grants may still be blocked . But the main message from Indian Country is to work with the administration and the Congress , and continue to highlight that Indian programs are based on the federal trust responsibility to Indian tribes , which in turn is based on Indian treaty rights and statutes .”
John Tahsuda is a principal with Navigators Global , an advisory firm in the nation ’ s capital , and former first deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Indian Affairs under the first Trump administration .
“ A majority of tribal funding is self-governance funding ,” he says . “ That ’ s primarily contracts , so you can make some changes , but if the federal government goes too far , then you get liability . So I ’ m assuming that they ’ re going to treat that as contract services . And the majority of funding is really for basic services — police , fire , health and some other basic government functions . Hopefully , those will get cleared at some point . There will be a short-term impact , however .”
Naming Names
The appointments of North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as secretary of the interior , and William “ Billy ” Kirkland III to serve as sssistant secretary for Indian Affairs , were well received in Indian Country .
“ Former Governor Burgum had a very good relationship with the tribes in his state ,” says McKeag . “ He understands tribal programs , tribal needs , tribal sovereignty and treaties . And Kirkland is a Navajo who understands how government works .”
Vargas says Burgum ’ s nomination was met with overwhelming enthusiasm from Indian Country governments , including the five tribes based in North Dakota .
“ According to both Secretary Burgum and the five tribes , the relationship was an open-door and positive relationship particularly with respect to their gaming compact negotiations , which were successful ,” he says . Tahsuda confirms that Burgum was a popular choice among tribal leaders . “ My understanding is that he had well over 200 tribal support letters that were sent during his nomination journey ,” he says . “ That ’ s a huge number . That sounds like a lot of folks were positive and hopeful about his time as secretary .”
And he ’ s enthusiastic about Kirkland , who worked in the previous Trump administration .
“ It ’ s great to have somebody that ’ s going to lead the Indian Affairs hallway who has his own connections to help bring support and attention to the priorities of Indian affairs ,” says Tahsuda .
McKeag also believes both appointments are good for Indian Country but has other areas of concern .
“ I don ’ t know from day to day what we can expect from this administration ,” she says . “ I do have some issues to consider , and one is the NIGC , because under Biden we had only two commissioners , no chairman . We haven ’ t had a chairman since Sequoia ( Simermeyer ) left . Jeannie Hovland was a Republican selection . ( Acting Chair ) Sharon Avery is a Democrat and the required tribal member . So that leaves one position open . They could select a white , non-Indian Republican . And God knows what that would do .”
Biden Bids
In the waning days of the Biden administration , the Interior Department OK ’ d three separate off-reservation land-into-trust rulings — the Coquille Indian Tribe , the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians , and the Koi Nation . The decisions were controversial because not only some of the local communities opposed them , but some neighboring tribes also disputed the idea that the lands were part of their former range . McKeag believes the Trump administration will take another look . “ They ’ re clearly off reservation ,” she admits , “ but I understand why ( former BIA head ) Brian Newland made a lot of those kinds of decisions , just like Kevin Washburn did under the Obama administration . And those two gentlemen were very good assistant secretaries for Indian Affairs overall . But I think they opened up a bit of a can of worms . That ’ s a slippery slope to commercial gaming .”
“ Given the federal government ’ s long history of mistreatment of tribal nations over decades , tribal nations are wise to build strong relationships with every new administration .”
— Mark Vargas , strategic communications and government affairs consultant
www . tribalgovernmentgaming . com 11