{"id":120507,"date":"2025-02-21T20:42:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T02:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=120507"},"modified":"2025-02-23T14:03:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T20:03:55","slug":"indian-country-continues-fight-for-funds-promised-by-the-u-s-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/02\/21\/indian-country-continues-fight-for-funds-promised-by-the-u-s-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Country continues fight for funds promised by the U.S. government"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Leonard<\/a>
Leonard Fineday, Secretary\/Treasurer for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, addresses the executive council winter session of the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C., on February 11, 2025. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Indian Country continues fight for funds promised by the U.S. government<\/div>\r\n
Friday, February 21, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nA key Congressional committee has added another day to its lineup of Indian Country hearings as tribes continue to fight for federal funds already promised to them.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe House Committee on Appropriations<\/a> will hear from American Indian and Alaska Native witnesses next week on February 25, February 26 and February 27. The third day was recently added to the schedule, following the original call for testimony<\/a> a month ago.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe American Indian and Alaska Native public witness hearings are a tradition for the committee<\/a>. Dozens of tribal leaders, executives and advocates come to Washington, D.C., every year to testify about their needs and priorities as Congress develops the appropriations bills that fund the federal government.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut the upcoming hearings have taken on fresh significance amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to freeze federal funds<\/a> that were already appropriated by Congress. Tribes, Indian organizations and Native businesses across the nation have been negatively impacted by the action, which occurred without notice or consultation on January 27, barely a week into the new Republican administration.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe directive, issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget on a Monday, left tribes scrambling to account for money promised to them as part of the U.S. government’s trust and treaty responsibilities. Although the memo itself was rescinded a day later following widespread confusion and criticism, the harms have lingered<\/a>.\r\n

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