Why Tribes Backed Trump: A Native Leader’s Perspective

In winning the popular vote and crushing the electoral college, Donald Trump won Indian Country. 

Across hundreds of reservations and millions of Indigenous people, Native Americans delivered a rebuke to Democrats that reflects a deep discontent with their policies and frustration with the arbitrary limits they placed on self-governance for tribal nations.

Trump’s overtures to our Nation’s first peoples were simple and spoke to the soul of what all Native nations want: self-governance of their community free of unnecessary federal interference, a true exercise of tribal sovereignty, greater economic opportunities and lower grocery and gas prices, public safety by supporting and funding law enforcement, and securing our Southern border to stop the fentanyl epidemic that is ravaging Indian Country. 

In his first term President Trump gave Indian Country the most pro-Native Supreme Court Justice in the history of our nation’s jurisprudence, Neil Gorsuch. Justice Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court was supported by both the National Congress of American Indians and the Native American Rights fund because Justice Gorsuch is a committed defender of tribal rights. Justice Gorsuch’s concurrence in the Brackeen reaffirmed the right of Native people to keep their own children and avoid losing them to non-Natives through adoptions—a not too distant problem that we dealt with during the time of Indian Boarding Schools. Justice Gorsuch has been on the side of Tribes in every case that he has heard, including protecting the gaming rights of the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo in El Paso, Texas, and protecting the rights of Native parents in Brackeen. We have President Trump to thank for Justice Gorsuch. 

Self-governance for Tribes is key to prosperity in Indian Country, which the Republican Party has supported since President Nixon first began to hand back control to tribal governments from the hands of nameless and faceless bureaucrats in Washington D.C. President Trump’s promise to drain the swamp, rein in unelected federal agencies, and operate government more efficiently goes hand in hand with self-governance and allowing Tribes to manage their own affairs to benefit their tribal citizens. 

President Trump’s promised energy dominance will benefit tribal communities, many of which still rely on diesel generators to power the most basic of services. An America-first energy policy will deliver safe, affordable energy to countless Indigenous communities, and a dollar saved on energy costs is a dollar available for necessities like food or medical care for our children and elders.

We also need real investment in public safety. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is a national tragedy that needs immediate attention. Native American women are 10 times more likely to be murdered or sexually assaulted, with more than 95% of MMIW cases not being covered by the media. This is why most Native people and reservation communities have never supported the left-wing “defund the police” movement.

President Trump has promised to bring manufacturing jobs to reservations that are in desperate need of employment opportunities for their residents. His tariffs will spur manufacturing and innovation here in the United States, and will remove cheap and unsafe products and foodstuffs from being imported from China and Mexico. Spurring the growth of manufacturing and agriculture on reservations will mean better jobs for our people, and access to healthy food, grown here by Native American farmers and ranchers. 

We are sorely in need of real and sustained enforcement of our Nation’s immigration laws, including the closing of our Southern Border. 

Reservations have been overrun by the flow of cheap fentanyl and other drugs, resulting in catastrophic damage to our families. By closing the border, and promising to put more law enforcement on our reservations, President Trump will give Tribes a chance to stem the tide of illegal drugs into their communities and give our people a chance to breathe and recover from the effects of drug abuse and addiction. 

We need the Trump Administration to continue the White House Tribal Nations Summit, giving access to his administration by addressing these issues and working with tribes on solutions. This is why I voted for President Trump and why I will be working with his administration to bring real movement to Indian Country.

Jeffrey L. Grubbe is the immediate past chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, an office he held for over ten years. During his tenure as chairman the tribe went through a period of unprecedented growth and prosperity, opening their third casino and fuel station. Jeff now operates a public advisory firm providing advice and counsel to tribal governments and companies on a host of issues.