Native Organizers Alliance - Demand Congress reject Trump’s budget, and protect Tribal treaty rights

 

Patricia, When the federal government makes cuts to essential human services, they disproportionately impact Native health care, housing, education, and more. The budget is a cornerstone of the federal responsibilities outlined in the treaties signed with sovereign Tribal nations to settle the taking of land and lives of our people. That’s why, when President Trump introduced his budget to Congress earlier this month, we took a long and hard look. And it’s bad. It's bad for us and for the health and well-being of all of our communities. Trump is asking Congress for a roughly $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget -- a 50% increase -- and he wants to pay for it by cutting critical funding to our communities here at home. Send an urgent message to Congress to reject Trump’s budget and fund the federal programs required to fulfill our treaty rights and human rights for all. Not more war! SIGN AND SEND Included in the President’s budget are billions of dollars in cuts to programs that are critical to Tribal nations and our initiatives to co-manage and remediate the climate crisis, one of our ancestral responsibilities. The budget proposes a 14% cut to the Department of Health and Human Services, including a 75% cut to the Special Diabetes Program for Native communities as well as cuts to Urban Indian Health funding. The budget proposes a 34% cut to housing-related programs, despite a severe housing crisis in Indian Country and beyond. Trump’s budget proposes a 32% cut to the Bureau of Indian Education, which operates roughly 180 schools serving Native students, mostly on reservations and in rural communities. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee said of the President’s budget, “[This budget] abandons our trust and treaty obligations to Native Americans.” And she’s right! How will the federal government prevent school closures and staffing shortages in Native communities with these cuts? How will Native communities protect irreplaceable and sacred cultural resources after the proposed 95% cut to the Historic Preservation Fund? How will the federal agencies meet their responsibilities to Tribes with thousands of staffing cuts and fewer resources? Click here to send an urgent message to your senators and representative demanding they reject Trump’s budget, which is a direct attack on Indian Country’s legal and inherent rights. How can the federal government claim to honor the Nation-to-Nation relationship if major budget cuts are proposed without meaningful Tribal consultation? Hawwih (thank you in Caddo) for taking action today, Judith LeBlanc (Caddo) Executive Director POWER OUR MOVEMENT

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