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- By Levi Rickert
Opinion. Throughout history, the federal government has enacted a range of policies aimed at eradicating American Indian tribes. When extermination proved unachievable, the strategy shifted toward assimilating Native Americans into mainstream society. A key element of this assimilation effort was the establishment of Indian boarding schools, where the guiding principle was to "kill the Indian, save the man."
Behind every shift in federal Indian policy stood a U.S. president.
On this Presidents Day, I typically reflect on how past presidents have dealt with tribes. This year is different. I don’t have time to look back—I am focused on monitoring the second Trump administration.
Since Trump’s return to office on January 20—just four weeks ago, it feels much longer—there have been rapid changes. One U.S. senator described the pace as akin to "drinking water from a fire hydrant."
For Indian Country, these shifts have been especially alarming.
One of Trump’s first acts in his second term was signing an executive order to rename Denali back to Mt. McKinley. Last week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, introduced legislation to officially recognize North America’s highest peak as Denali, the name given by Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans.
On Monday, January 27, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered all federal agencies to temporarily suspend grant, loan, and financial assistance programs.The directive included Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.) policies and mandated that all federal financial aid disbursements cease by 5 p.m. the next day.
The memorandum sent shockwaves through Indian Country, as the federal government is legally obligated to provide funding to tribes.
In response, John EchoHawk (Pawnee), founder and executive director of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), emphasized the government’s duty to Tribal Nations. "Because of this unique relationship, the United States must fulfill its trust obligation to protect Tribal treaty rights, lands, assets, and resources. Withholding federal funding without consultation is a step in the wrong direction."
By Wednesday, January 29, the executive order was rescinded.
Despite this reversal, tribal leaders from various national and regional Native American organizations sent a letter to President Trump, members of Congress, and Secretary Doug Burgum, reinforcing that the relationship between tribes and the federal government is based on their status as sovereign political entities—not race.
At last week’s National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) winter session in Washington, D.C., some tribal officials reported that their finance departments had been unable to access federal portals to withdraw funds.
Then, on Friday, hundreds of federal employees at the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education were fired under another presidential memorandum titled “Implementing the President's ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative.” The order targeted federal employees with less than two years on the job.
As a citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and an American, I experience the duality of my identity—both as a tribal citizen and as an American. This perspective often highlights the irony of history.
Today, that irony is unfolding again. It was acceptable for Europeans to cross open borders to settle in America, yet Trump’s MAGA movement insists that borders must now be closed to people with darker skin seeking refuge.
This president fuels that narrative with fear-driven rhetoric, demonizing asylum seekers as criminals.
It is also concerning that Trump is pushing for control over Canada, the Panama Canal, Greenland, and even Gaza—resurrecting colonial ambitions where none are needed.
Since taking office, Trump has directed a private citizen (ie, Elon Musk) to slash federal spending. However, no safeguards exist in this reckless approach. Cutting costs should come after careful review, not chaos.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, summed it up at an oversight hearing last Wednesday: "What’s happening right now is unlawful, and it is not our job in a democracy to petition the king for mercy. It is our job in a democracy to stand up and say, this is impermissible under the law.”
So, on this Presidents Day, I remind myself that our ancestors survived President Andrew "Indian Killer" Jackson. We will survive President Donald Trump, too—but we must be warriors in the defense of tribal sovereignty.
Thayék gde nwéndëmen - We are all related.
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