Trump Administration Rolls Back Executive Order on Tribal Sovereignty and Self-Governance
President Joe Biden signs executive order at the White House Tribal Nations Summit on December 7, 2023. (Photo/Levi Rickert for Native News Online)
- By Levi Rickert
The White House on Friday revoked 18 executive actions from the Biden administration, including an order designed to strengthen tribal sovereignty and expand self-determination for the nation’s 574 federally recognized tribes.
The sweeping revocation included Executive Order 14112 of Dec. 6, 2023 — “Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations to Better Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the Next Era of Tribal Self-Determination.” This executive order was signed in a room full of tribal leaders at the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit.
Biden’s executive order directed federal agencies to “promote compacting, contracting, co-management, co-stewardship, and other agreements with Tribal Nations that allow them to partner with the Federal Government to administer Federal programs and services.”
Biden’s order was meant to expand tribal self-determination across the 574 federally recognized tribes by making it easier for Native Americans to access federal funding and have greater autonomy over how to use the federal funds.
“Today, Tribal Nations still face many barriers to fully exercise their inherent sovereignty, especially in federal funding programs. Far too many of the federal funding and support programs that Tribes rely on are difficult to access, have overly burdensome federal reporting requirements, have unnecessary limitations, or impose requirements on Tribes that drain Tribal resources and undermine their ability to make their own decisions about where and how to meet the needs of their communities,” the executive order stated.
Former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community) weighed in on Trump’s revoking of Biden’s executive order to Native News Online on Saturday morning:
“This Executive Order was intended to reduce government interference with how Tribes spend their money, and to ensure that federal agencies are actually meeting their legal obligations for Tribes. It made the government more efficient for Indian people. Rolling back this Executive Order increases federal interference with local actions.”
Trump’s action Friday was among 18 Biden administration orders rescinded by Trump in his “Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions.” The rescission follows a previous Jan. 20 executive order in which Trump revoked 78 other presidential orders and memoranda from the Biden administration.
This is a developing story.
OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS NO PLAN. Wasting money on trips to DC, no reports or updates on status of funding. The Trump administration has reversed appropriations on our projects including the Parsonage. Thank Ellen Frye and Magpie whose incompetence stalled the project for years. That funding ($1.2 m), now gone, was secured by Cassie Jackson and Carlton Hendricks, Jr. Other vital project funding has also been stopped.
When were they going to tell you about any of it? We’re leaving the door open for them to tell the truth about the rest.
WE WARNED ABOUT THIS.
