Policy and Law
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- By Brian Edwards
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WASHINGTON — Congress released bill text Monday for a bipartisan, bicameral package of three fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills that would reject nearly $1 billion in proposed cuts to tribal programs sought by the Trump administration, according to congressional negotiators. The package would preserve funding for health care, public safety, education, infrastructure and treaty obligations across Indian Country.
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- By Chez Oxendine
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The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation has sued Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and state natural resources officials, saying a new law shuts the tribe out of free access to lands it has used since “time immemorial.”
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- By Chez Oxendine
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President Donald Trump on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have expanded the Miccosukee Tribe’s reserved area inside Everglades National Park, marking one of his first two vetoes of his second term.
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- By Tribal Business News Staff
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The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025 on Dec. 11, advancing bipartisan legislation aimed at speeding up mortgage approvals on tribal trust land.
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- By Chez Oxendine
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The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs approved legislation Wednesday that would give all federally recognized tribes authority to issue 99-year leases on trust lands, a change tribal leaders say is critical for attracting investment and financing development projects.
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- By Chez Oxendine
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Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) have introduced legislation aimed at improving federal support for tribal buffalo restoration efforts — a central goal of the food sovereignty movement.
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Congressional negotiators on Sunday released the text of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, a sweeping defense and national security bill that includes multiple provisions affecting tribal nations — headlined by federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
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President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday night ending a 43-day government shutdown that disrupted federal programs across Indian Country, including food assistance, housing and tribal lending operations.
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- By Chez Oxendine
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On Wednesday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in State of Minnesota v. Todd Jeremy Thompson, a case that could affect how a longstanding public law applies to cannabis in Indian Country.
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- By Chez Oxendine
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As the federal government grinds through another shutdown, the effects are being felt unevenly across the country. For most Americans, the pain is abstract — delayed permits, closed National Parks and bureaucratic bottlenecks. For tribal nations, it’s existential.