Halito F/friends!
From all of us at FCNL, we hope you had a peaceful holiday season. In this delayed issue of December’s Native American Legislative Update, we are looking back at a year of federal policy wins. While a new Congress and administration have brought trouble and uncertainty, tribal advocates have successfully secured major wins for Indian Country. If you’d like to support our work, consider making a donation here.
Trump Signs Wounded Knee Bill, Vetoes Miccosukee Legislation
On December 19, the Senate passed two bills — the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act (H.R. 165) and the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act (H.R. 504) — and sent them to the President’s desk. President Trump signed the Wounded Knee Act into law but vetoed the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act. This Act would have added to the Miccosukee Tribe’s reservation and provided resources to prevent flooding.
In a statement released by the White House, President Trump said he vetoed because, “the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected.” The Miccosukee Tribe were party to a lawsuit that halted the expansion of so-called Alligator Alcatraz, a detention center constructed to imprison undocumented immigrants.
Package of Native American Bills Pass Senate
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a package of 12 bipartisan tribal bills designed to strengthen Native communities by addressing long-standing legal, economic, public health, safety, and water settlement issues. The measures were advanced out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee earlier this year and were approved by the full Senate on December 12, 2025.
Key components of the package include:
- The BADGES for Native Communities Act (S.390), which bolsters tribal law enforcement capacity and addresses jurisdictional issues that contribute to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis (MMIW). FCNL is actively lobbying for full passage of this legislation through the House of Representatives.
- Water rights and settlement acts such as the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act (S.240), along with technical corrections to existing water rights legislation, supporting reliable water access and legal clarity for tribes.
Congress Funds Vital Food Distribution Program for Native Americans
In a legislative win, Congress funded the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) through the end of the fiscal year, September 2026. The funding was secured through H.R. 5371, the legislation which ended the government shutdown.
FDPIR, run through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides food to income-eligible households on Native American and Alaska Native reservations. 25% of all Native Americans and Alaska Natives rely on federal food assistance. FDPIR is an essential component of household food security for Native American communities who disproportionately live in remote areas with limited access to SNAP-authorized stores or SNAP offices.
The new legislation includes $235 million for FDPIR, an approximately $70 million increase from Fiscal Year 2025. It also includes $3 million for FDPIR 638 Demonstration Projects, which allow tribes to directly source and control the food in FDPIR food packages. Many have used the 638 demonstration projects to purchase culturally appropriate items like salmon, buffalo, and blue corn meal.
Defense Funding Bill Includes Some Tribal Provisions, Others Left Out
The National Defense Authorization Act (S.2296), the massive annual defense spending bill, passed with several tribal provisions. Included in the legislation is reauthorization of the Protect Our Children Act with expanded tribal involvement, the Native CDFI program, and the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program. Notably absent were other provisions passed out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in February of 2025, including the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act.
Also included is the Lumbee Fairness Act (H.R. 474) which grants full federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. In November, the act was the subject of a tense Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing. Read about that hearing, and some of the history of the fight for Lumbee recognition, in our November NALU.
What We’re Reading
- A ‘Bright Path’ Forward: Dickinson College Builds New Center in Carlisle | Indian Country Today
- Finalized Tax Rules Seen as Historic Win for Tribal Economies | Native News Online
- 70% of Children in South Dakota Foster Care are Native American, State Says | South Dakota Searchlight
- SNAP was Restored, but Many Indigenous Americans Still Struggle with Food Insecurity | NPR
