Policy & Advocacy

Indian Country's Federal Policy Priorities

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 in the document linked below are key policy steps the Administration and federal agencies 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, delivered to President Trump's transition team in November 2024, are endorsed by the 14 contributing Native organizations featured on the cover and listed below. In addition to the transition briefing document, you can also view earlier versions of policy documents (for both Congress and the Administration) updated in March 2024.

Policy Brief for the Incoming Trump Administration (PDF 914 KB)

Tribal Economic Development Policy Documents