The Tanana Chiefs Conference has issued a statement addressing the potential effects of recent executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on federal programs, policies, and funding that impact Alaska Native communities. TCC said it is closely monitoring the president’s directives and taking steps to ensure tribal operations and programs remain uninterrupted.
One of those recommendations is to draw down all available money before the pause on federal grants takes effect, which was to be at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Update: A federal judge has blocked the pausing of the federal grants after the Marxist group known as Democracy Forward sued, claiming the pause is unconstitutional.
The White House Office of Management and Budget had ordered a temporary pause on all outgoing grants until they are audited for things like promoting Marxist ideology and weaponizing the federal government against the people of America.
Read the details about the temporary pause at this link:
The Tanana Chiefs statement is far different and more measured than the one published by the Lummi Tribe in Whatcom County of Western Washington, which declared that it is a sovereign nation and it expects its money to flow from the federal government.
“These actions do not align with the values we hold as a sovereign nation,” the Lummi Tribe wrote about the temporary pause and other executive orders from the president, who the tribe clearly said it did not support in the 2024 election.
Tanana Chiefs, which has at least $1 billion in assets that have been provided by federal taxpayers, took a more measured approach than the Lummi and listed the executive orders and their implications for the TCC region in Interior Alaska and other Alaska Native communities.
Here’s what the TCC wrote about the executive orders and their regional impact:
Unleashing American Energy
This order temporarily halts disbursement of funds under the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure and Jobs Act for projects deemed inconsistent with oil, gas, and mineral resource development.
Regional Impact: Delays in funding for energy and infrastructure projects could impact Tribal initiatives. TCC advises Tribes to prepare for potential extended pauses in federal assistance.
Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
This order revokes Executive Order 13985, discontinuing programs and grants aimed at advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities, including those benefiting Alaska Native Tribes.
Regional Impact: Reduced focus on Tribal access to grants and services may affect community development efforts. TCC remains committed to advocating for equitable funding and resources.
Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential
This order places a moratorium on the Ambler Road Environmental Impact Statement and mandates a review of Alaska Native land policies.
Regional Impact: TCC supports Tribal resolutions opposing the Ambler Road project due to its potential impacts on subsistence resources. TCC will engage in discussions to protect Tribal land rights and subsistence practices.
Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
This order mandates compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws while eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federal contracts and grants.
Regional Impact: Native Preference policies rooted in federal law remain unaffected, but organizations may need to review contract terms. TCC will continue advocating for policies that uphold Tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness
This order reverts the name of Denali to Mount McKinley while retaining Denali National Park’s name.
Regional Impact: TCC, in alignment with the Alaska State Legislature, opposes the name change, emphasizing the cultural significance of “Denali” in the Koyukon Athabascan language. Efforts will continue to preserve the name.
In response to the Executive Orders, TCC is encouraging Tribes to contact federal agencies regarding pending awards or disbursements, dvising the drawdown of available funds under 638 or Self-Governance agreements before the funding freeze takes effect, and recommending a review of award agreements to identify clauses that protect against potential claw-backs.
TCC also assured that Indian Health Services (IHS) funding, which is forward-funded, remains unaffected, ensuring uninterrupted clinic operations. Similarly, TCC’s forward funding approach for Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) programs guarantees that critical services for Tribes continue without disruption.
TCC’s Commitment to Advocacy and Monitoring
TCC reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for Alaska Native communities amid the evolving federal landscape. “We hear and understand the concerns of our Tribes and Tribal Members regarding these announcements,” TCC stated. “We will continue to monitor the directives coming from the Administration and assess their potential impacts on our region and communities.”
Tanana Chiefs Conference says it “provides a unified voice in advancing sovereign tribal governments through the promotion of physical and mental wellness, education, socioeconomic development, and culture of the Interior Alaska Native people.”
I was on the board for the Alaska native hospital 25 years ago. I left after a couple of years when my suggestions for all Alaska native tribes would start working on actively working on solving the drug and alcohol problem. Every one of their responses was to grab more grant money to “study” the problem – that they all freely admitted had been going on for decades.
Thank god, Trump is drying up that well of dependency.
And for those who are unawar, we loose our rights when on indian land..as the courts have stated
The way it should be. There is a big sign at the Gambell airport stating you are on private property.
There are no diminished rights on Native. Corp lands. Indian Country was extinguished in Alaska. Exception, one village in SE Ak.
“Take the money and run…” –Steve Miller
Too late!! Already paused. Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of printing endless money to support endless non causes. Abolish 501 3 C corporations should be a number one thing on congresses list of things to do.
Better be careful.
If you spend the money on stuff that is not allowable under the grant in your rush to draw them down, you might find out you’re disqualified from future grants. Very dangerous idea.
Well wouldn’t you do the same? I mean greed is so on-brand these days.
Dog, read about Caroline Kennedy. Lol
So they are dependent sovereign nations.
Lolll right…. what a bunch of bravo Sierra.
They get their cake and eat it too, and we, western culture that brings civility and a standard of living to the equation, suffer…Thanks to the leftist politicians, that r a product of academia, which the electorate falls prey to.
Sovereign and accepting reparation treaty money.
Since the Native Settlement Act, why are the corporation members still feeding at the federal trough?
Because there is a trough…
“If there should happen to be a trough, there will be pigs.” – A. S. Pushkin.
A judge just ruled that trump can’t legally do it so welcome to court, mr trump again.
Say hello to the Supreme Court to straighten out the ACTIVIST judge. There, I corrected it for you.
Dream on pocket pool boy.
That is President Trump to you. You appear to be an election denier, insurrectionist and petty.
Since you seem to support all the boondoggle projects without accountability, You should have to pay for them all yourself instead of forcing working class people to pay for them through taxes.
I did for years, decades.
Once again we can see that this “sovereign nation” fiction needs to come to a grinding halt and some severe examples need to be made in order to kill off that sort of diseased thinking forever.
These goofs parading around as if they’re special and entitled are going to be terribly unhappy when one day young White people who’re struggling to pay their own way through life cast off the guilt they’ve been expected to shoulder and start cracking the heads of demanding serial mooches instead.
But we are. Here first. Pay through the nose mam.
You might have been here first, but the Europeans conquered you. You lost all rights when you were destroyed by White man.
Don’t like it? Bummer. Too bad. History is overflowing with examples of superior cultures overwhelming inferior ones. There is no requirement for the conqueror to compensate the conquered. If the conquered get scraps from the table, they should be grateful.
Well, a tribe has the right to be as sovereign as they can afford to be, all by themselves….
The minute it’s my tax dollars and everyone elses tax dollars you’re counting on playing with, then you’re stuck playing by the same rules everyone else is…
Greedy Natives. Their love of money is eclipsed by anything with real value.
Trump is an ‘Indian Giver’.
Yes, Many of
Them love to claim to be sovereign, yet they are totally reliant on the tax dollars of the vast vast majority, they claim to want to live like their elders did thousands of years ago, yet there are grave yards all over Buetifull Alaska full of millions of tons of snow machines, Four wheelers, vehicles and countless appliances that never existed 70 years ago, they rely on gas, oil, planes and endless other amenities that were basicly handed to them for decades! Not all, but far to many of them just rely on the check every month or the ballooned amounts of State and Federal dollars to keep them afloat, all while their higher arcy become lobbyist and fleece Billiions of dollars and Colaberate in business’s and other ways that were all funded by federal dollars from the vast vast majority of people from European decent. Then
Most of their higher arcy live all over the dam Country and abroad only to fly north on occasion for a photo op. They all like to blame progress for their own dam failures in order to hold onto their dead horse of a history and heritage, all this while they wreap the many rewards of modern day progress and technologies as they squander any lugitament remedies to survive more independently and honor which is a long gone proud history . This all is so pathetic beyond belief. The truth is most of them couldn’t survive a dam month with out being replenished by the same people they like to blame for they own pathetic failures. I’m So sick of hearing the Native Outrage from many of these watered down hasbiens who only know how to blame and beg. They have created there own bed, now maybe it’s time for them to lay in it, Or better yet go out and live like their elders did thousands of years ago as they allways love to chirp ,
They would be screaming with in a week, where’s my New Snow Machine. We need gas. We need supplies. Where’s my New 40,000 dollar
Aluminum Skiff. They love all the Toys and fancy tools, but have no clue who provides it all to them . Total hypocrites. Maybe it is time for them to start Carving out their prestige’s canoes and making a go of it. I’m so done with these people, they’re clueless beyond beleif !! I personally think their real elders of long ago would be ashamed of what many of them have become! And please please don’t get me started on the white Europeans who now think their native, there’s plenty of them as well!
Brilliant economics (/sarc). Reduce what is in your bank accounts just in time for the expected budget cuts. How much smarter can you be? Cheers –