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- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.
Senators Call for Protection of Native Serving Institutions
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), and U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaiʻi), Vice Chairman, led a bipartisan group of Senators urging the U.S. Department of Education to continue funding two key grant programs under Title III Part A of the Higher Education Act: Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions (ANNHSI) and Strengthening Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTI).
These programs support colleges and universities that serve significant populations of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students. In their letter, the Senators caution that pulling this funding would be detrimental to institutions across Indian Country, disrupt ongoing education programs, and undermine the federal government’s trust responsibility to Native communities.
“Reprogramming the funding for ANNHSIs and NASNTIs will pull an estimated $36.1 million annually away from colleges and universities in Alaska, Hawaiʻi, and the rest of the United States, including dollars that are part of ongoing grants – projects, programs, and services that are already in motion and that are serving currently enrolled students,” the Senators wrote.
The letter emphasizes that the grants are not race-based, but instead support institutions based on their service to Native students, in accordance with the unique political and legal relationship between the federal government and Native peoples.
“To be clear, these grants do not impose racial quotas or restrict admissions based on race, but support institutions that deliver on the federal trust responsibility to provide an education for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians because of their unique legal status and political relationship with the United States,” the Senators wrote.
In addition to the Chairman and Vice Chairman, the letter was also signed by Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaiʻi), Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico), Senator Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota).
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Legislation Would Abolish Two National Monument Against Indigenous Community Wishes
Legislation introduced by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) would abolish the Ironwood Forest and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon national monuments in an affront to Indigenous communities, local governments and Arizona voters.
Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument has support from 80 percent of Arizona voters in protecting nearly 1 million acres of the Grand Canyon region and watershed, which has cultural connections to at least 12 Tribes and Nations.
Ironwood Forest National Monument is a 129,000-acre monument approximately 25 miles northwest of Tucson and renowned for its rich biodiversity supporting more than 600 species, some of which are federally listed as threatened or endangered. Beyond its ecological significance, the Ironwood Forest National Monument holds substantial archaeological value and more than 200 sites from the prehistoric Hohokam period (600 A.D. to 1450 A.D.) have been recorded, featuring a variety of artifacts. The Tucson City Council just last week passed a resolution in support of Ironwood Forest National Monument and in May, Pima County passed a resolution in support of the monument. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Ironwood Forest National Monument, the Pima County Board of Supervisors, the Town of Marana, and the City of Tucson came also together to issue official proclamations that recognized June 9, 2025, as Ironwood Forest Day.
Interior Department Announces More Than $54 Million for Waterfowl Habitat
The Department of the Interior on Thursday announced more than $54 million from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund has been approved by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, providing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the ability to conserve 21,737 acres of waterfowl habitat and increase public access on four national wildlife refuges.
This funding was derived primarily from the sale of Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, commonly known as Duck Stamps, and import duties on imported arms and ammunition.
Since 1934, the Federal Duck Stamp Program has provided more than $1.3 billion for habitat conservation in the National Wildlife Refuge System. These funds will be used to purchase waterfowl habitat at the following national wildlife refuges:
- Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah – $2,620,000 for 934 acres
- Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge, Tennessee – $1,800,000 for 495 acres
- Red River National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana – $14,600,000 for 3,285 acres
- Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana – $35,238,000 for 17,023 acres
Additional information about North American wetlands and migratory bird conservation can be found on the Service’s webpage.
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