Policy & Advocacy

Indian Country's Federal Policy Priorities

The Trump Administration: Emerging Impacts on Indian Country

At our 2025 Reservation Economic Summit (RES), The National Center held a heavily attended listening session to elicit the perspectives of Tribal and Native organizational leaders, key decision-makers, and staff about the emerging impacts of actions taken by the Trump Administration on Tribal Nations and their citizens. We subsequently invited them and others across Indian Country to complete a short survey sharing similar information. The final assessment synthesizes and shares the key actions and impacts shared by those who participated in these two fact-finding endeavors. 

KEY FINDINGS: The National Center’s comprehensive assessment revealed 15 key actions already taken or currently underway by the Trump Administration commonly identified by those providing input at the listening session or through the survey. As seen below, the actions are heavily focused on actions impacting Indian Country economic development and growth, which reflects the work and focus of the primary Indian Country constituencies The National Center serves: 

FEDERAL AGENCY ADMINISTRATION AND WORKFORCE IMPACTS 

• Reducing the Federal Workforce: slowing administrative responsiveness/funding deployment to Indian Country
• Closing Regional Federal Offices: threatening the quality/timeliness of service delivery and technical assistance
• Dismantling the AmeriCorps program: eliminating an important source of Indian Country jobs/services 

FUNDING AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS

• Consolidating Government Contracting at GSA: endangering the progress made on Buy Indian Act purchasing
• Freezing Current Federal Funding Streams: disrupting the operation of critical Indian Country programs/services
• Rescinding Funding Agreements: resulting in the loss of hundreds of millions of already-allocated dollars
• Terminating Future Federal Grant Funding: eliminating already-awarded future funding for Indian Country
• Canceling and Deprioritizing 8(a) Contracts: endangering Native economic growth, especially in rural areas
• Renouncing Small Business Development Goals: decreasing procurement with Indian Country businesses
• Ending Funding for Native CDFIs: limiting their ability to grow to meet Indian Country’s significant capital needs
• Imposing Tariffs: increasing operational costs for Tribal enterprises and Native-owned small businesses 

GOVERNANCE, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND STRATEGIC PLANNING IMPACTS 

• Disrupting Public Services: in critical areas such as education, healthcare, public safety, and food security
• Reducing Research Opportunities: endangering Tribal natural resources and public health and safety
• Abandoning Climate Resiliency Efforts: impairing Indian Country clean energy infrastructure/job development 
• Fostering Uncertainty about the Federal Commitment to Indian Country: inhibiting Tribal governance/planning 

LOOKING AHEAD: The National Center recognizes this assessment constitutes a partial snapshot in time of a fluid, rapidly evolving policy landscape. For example, shortly after this assessment was f inalized, President Trump released his FY 2026 Budget Request, which contains hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to Indian Country programs. In addition to the FY 2026 Appropriations process, other emerging and pending Administration actions are of great concern to Indian Country, notably the slated restructuring of federal agencies, further wholesale reductions in the federal workforce through Schedule F, and federal deregulation that potentially fails to uphold Indian Country interests without genuine consultation with Tribal Nations. The National Center – along with our key partners across Indian Country – will continue to monitor and share key impacts as they arise. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL-INDIAN COUNTRY COLLABORATION: The final page of this brief outlines some key areas and ways in which Indian Country and the Trump Administration can align to strengthen Native communities and the nation as a whole.

Read and download the full survey results (PDF 314 kb)

ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESSIONAL TRANSITION BRIEFS

During the 2024/2025 Presidential transition, The National Center and partner organizations developed a set of economic policy priorities for both the incoming Trump Administration and the 119th Congress. These briefs are available below.

Joint Indian Country Economic Policy Brief for the Incoming Trump Administration (PDF 914 kb)

Joint Indian Country Economic Policy Brief for the 119th Congress (PDF 861 kb)

Across Indian Country, Tribal Nations are forging impressive records of economic progress. From operating nation-owned enterprises to cultivating tribal citizen-owned businesses to preparing their people to access new job opportunities through workforce education and training, Tribal Nations are methodically building sustainable economies to support thriving Native communities. As they do, they are also helping to power the regional economies that surround them, generating jobs, income, and a good quality of life for growing numbers of Native and non-Native people. 

Driving this remarkable yet uneven renaissance is tribal self-determination, specifically the responsibility each Tribal Nation exercises to create a robust economy based on its cultural values, particular circumstances, and long-range priorities. To support Tribal Nations, the federal government must fulfill its binding trust and treaty obligations to take key actions to foster – and remove the barriers impeding – their economy-building efforts. Past Administrations and Congresses have done just that, often in a bipartisan fashion. 

Consider, for example: 

• Passage of the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion and Tourism Act of 2000 and Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2020 – both Republican-sponsored – which established and strengthened the Office of Native American Business Development within the Department of Commerce and featured several policy and funding measures to spur economic growth in Native communities
• Passage of the Native American Business Incubators Program Act – signed into law by then-President Trump – which created a program providing grants to establish and operate sorely needed business incubators in Indian Country
• Finalization of the modernized Community Reinvestment Act regulations, which feature critical new provisions specifically designed to increase banks’ investment in Indian Country
• Treasury’s new proposed rule affirming the tax-exempt status of tribally chartered corporations wholly owned by Tribal Nations, which removes a longstanding barrier for tribal business development and growth
• Proposed updates to Treasury regulations to improve the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act implementation to increase Tribal Nations’ flexibility to provide needed benefits to their citizens to lift them out of poverty
• Expansion of Public Law 102-477 – signed into law by then-President Trump – and subsequent adoption of the revised 477 Interdepartmental MOA that enhances Tribal Nations’ ability to merge federal program funding for workforce development, economic development, and related initiatives into streamlined, comprehensive tribal plans that enhance the economic impact of federal dollars in Native communities 

Featured below are key policy steps the Administration, federal agencies, and Congress should take to enhance and grow the federal government’s support of Tribal Nations as they build and sustain vibrant economies that benefit not just Native people, but all Americans. These consensus priorities are endorsed by the briefs' 15 contributing Native organizations. In addition to the documents for the Trump Administration and 119th Congress, you can also view earlier versions of policy documents (for both Congress and the Administration) updated in March 2024.

Tribal Economic Development Policy Documents