American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Day 1, Morning Session

House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

2025-02-25

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This meeting of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee served as a public witness hearing dedicated to American Indian and Alaskan Native programs, featuring an unprecedented number of tribal leaders and representatives. The subcommittee emphasized the bipartisan commitment to addressing tribal issues and honoring federal trust and treaty responsibilities, despite acknowledging historical shortcomings and current challenges facing Indigenous communities across the country.[ 00:07:09-00:07:16 ] [ 00:08:16-00:08:41 ]

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Themes

Federal Funding and Government Relations

Many tribal leaders expressed deep concern over federal funding freezes, potential reallocations, and the termination of federal employees, which they believe hinder the government's ability to fulfill treaty and trust responsibilities. There were calls for federal programs, funding, and employees related to tribal nations to be exempt from workforce reductions, funding cuts, and hiring freezes, clarifying that these are not diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs but legal obligations. Tribes also requested that funding for critical services like IHS and BIA be made mandatory, ensuring continuity and protection from political changes. The subcommittee acknowledged that some funding has been unfrozen, but continued to monitor issues with Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds, and employee reductions.

Law Enforcement and Public Safety

A critical theme was the severe underfunding and understaffing of tribal law enforcement, leading to public safety crises on reservations.[ 00:46:29-00:47:17 ]

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 Many tribes reported having a fraction of the officers needed, making it difficult to patrol vast territories and address issues like drug-related crime.[ 00:47:04 ]

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 Challenges include officer burnout, low pay, lack of BIA flexibility in using funds for local police contracts, and outdated detention facilities. There were calls for increased BIA law enforcement budgets, parity in benefits for tribal officers, and the establishment of new police academies in regions like the Great Plains.

Healthcare Services

Tribal leaders highlighted the persistent underfunding of the Indian Health Service (IHS), resulting in significant shortfalls and inadequate access to critical healthcare. Concerns included the lack of primary and preventative healthcare services, the need for increased funding for specific programs, and the protection of Medicaid funding, which is crucial for many tribal members. It was noted that Native Americans face worse health outcomes and a decreasing life expectancy, emphasizing the urgent need for dedicated funding for treatment, wellness centers, and specialty care.

Education and Infrastructure

Education received significant attention, with speakers highlighting the underfunding of Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools and programs like Johnson O'Malley (JOM) and Head Start.[ 00:33:26-00:34:30 ]

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[ 00:35:28-00:35:54 ]

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 Tribes emphasized the importance of language preservation, culturally enriched early childhood education, and vocational training.[ 00:33:43-00:34:19 ]

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[ 00:35:59 ]

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[ 00:38:14-00:38:14 ]

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 Infrastructure needs, such as drinking water, wastewater systems, housing, and the reclamation of Superfund sites, were also stressed as critical for community development and economic growth.[ 02:49:42-02:49:52 ]

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Tribal Sovereignty and Self-Determination

Many speakers underscored the unique government-to-government relationship between tribal nations and the U.S. federal government, rooted in treaties and the Constitution.[ 01:14:48 ]

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 They asserted that federal appropriations for tribal programs are not handouts but a fulfillment of treaty obligations, separate from broader DEI initiatives.[ 02:44:30-02:44:48 ]

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 The historical context of tribal contributions to the nation, including military service, was highlighted to reinforce the importance of honoring these responsibilities.[ 01:14:31-01:14:39 ]

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 Calls were made for tribal input in policy decisions and for direct funding to tribes to enhance self-sufficiency and capacity building.

Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was one of profound urgency and deep concern, often mixed with frustration over the persistent underfunding and perceived disregard for treaty obligations. Tribal leaders expressed disappointment with current administrative actions that they feel undermine progress and create "chaos and disruption."[ 00:11:13 ]

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 Despite these strong criticisms, there was also a discernible undercurrent of hope and appreciation for the subcommittee members who demonstrated a bipartisan commitment to addressing tribal issues.[ 00:08:31-00:08:35 ]

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[ 02:05:19 ]

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 Speakers balanced their direct calls for action and accountability with expressions of gratitude for the opportunity to testify and for ongoing support, reflecting a desire for continued collaboration.[ 02:05:25 ]

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Participants

Transcript

S
Stacy Shepherd
Thank you.
The committee will come to order.  Good morning and welcome to the first of our public witness hearings dedicated to American Indians and Alaskan Native programs.  This will actually be, I think, the largest number of tribes we've had to testify before us, and we're very proud   I think 98 tribes or over 100 tribes are coming in to speak with us today.  I would like to welcome all of the distinguished tribal leaders and elders and leaders here today.  This year we have an unprecedented number of requests requiring us to expand to a third day to accommodate around 100 tribes and tribal organizations.  These hearings are incredibly important and we appreciate the opportunity to hear from so many tribes and organizations.   across Indian Country.  Indian Country has been and will continue to be a bipartisan priority of this subcommittee.   We have the ranking member and former chairman and former chairman before that.  We all work together on tribal issues.  It's one of the areas that's kind of bipartisan, which is kind of nice.  I look forward to continuing to work with ranking member Pingree to expand the committee's efforts to strengthen our federal commitment to honor our treaty and trust responsibilities with American Indians and Alaska Natives.   Thank you to all of our witnesses for appearing before the committee and sharing your concerns and personal perspectives on these important topics.  In terms of hearing logistics, I will call each panel of witnesses to the table one panel at a time.  Each witness will be given five minutes to present their testimony.   The full written testimony will be included in the record, so please don't feel pressured to cover everything in five minutes.  We will be using a timer to track progress with each witnesses.  When the light turns yellow, the witnesses will have one minute remaining to conclude their remarks.  When the light turns red, I'll have to ask the witnesses to stop so   We can remain on schedule, especially with all the tribes that we have coming in for the next three days.  We'll hear from every witness on each panel before members will be provided the opportunity to ask questions.
Because we have a full day ahead, I request that we try to keep things moving so we can stay on schedule and respect each other's time.  I also want to note that committee rules prohibit the use of outside cameras and   THESE HEARINGS CAN BE VIEWED IN ITS ENTIRETY ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBSITE AND AN OFFICIAL HEARING TRANSCRIPT WILL BE AVAILABLE AT GPO.GOV.  WITH THAT, I THANK ALL OF YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY AND I'M HAPPY TO YIELD NOW TO OUR DISTINGUISHED RANKING MEMBER FOR ANY REMARKS SHE MAY   Thank you.  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good morning.  I echo the Chair's welcome to this first day of public witness hearings on tribal programs under the jurisdiction of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, and appreciate the Chair scheduling an extra day so we could accommodate the requests.  I want to thank everybody for traveling to Washington to testify before the committee.   The Trump administration has only been in office for a few short weeks, yet they have unleashed chaos and disruption into indigenous communities and created anxiety and uncertainty for tribal members over their employment status, the continuation of critical health care and educational services, and in some cases have even challenged their citizenship.   I hope our witnesses today will use this hearing as an opportunity to sound the alarm on the devastating impacts of this administration's policies.  I hope you will shine much needed spotlight on the damaging impacts that freezes on federal hiring, federal funding, the termination of probationary employees, and the federal hiring freeze have already had and will have on the lives and livelihoods of tribal nations and indigenous communities around the country.   I look forward to hearing about what is happening in your communities, the needs and challenges facing Indian Country, and your priorities for programs in the Interior Bill.  Our discussion today will allow your voices to be heard and will help to inform us as we finish the fiscal 2025 funding bill and then begin developing the fiscal 2026 appropriations bill.
With that, I yield back to Chairman Simpson.  Thank you, Member Pingree.  We can now begin with our first panel.   Donna Thompson, Vice Chair of the Fort Hall Business Council of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and Chief Allen, Chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribes.  Donna, the floor is yours.
D
Donna Thompson
Thank you.  Good morning.  My name is Donna Thompson.  I am the Vice Chair of the Fort Hall Business Council of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho.  And first of all, I want to thank Chairman Simpson, who is our representative, for his longstanding efforts on behalf of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and Indian Country to uphold the trust and treaty responsibilities.  With the recent actions taken by the administration, we are greatly concerned for the funding   for tribes is at risk and that the federal government's ability to fulfill the treaty and trust responsibilities will be hindered by current hiring restrictions and the ongoing firing of federal employees.  I respectfully urge this subcommittee to take action to ensure there are no disruptions to tribal program funding and to protect the federal workers supporting Indian country.   Today I will focus on one, protecting funding for IHS and BIA, two, increasing law enforcement funding, and three, funding drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs.

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