House and Senate Pass Interior Appropriations Bill, Reject Most Proposed Cuts for Indian Country
On January 15, 2026, the Senate passed H.R. 6938 (Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026). This bill funds three areas of government, including the Department of the Interior, through September 30, 2026. Funding for Indian Country in this bill is largely maintained at previous levels, despite pressure from the executive branch to make drastic cuts.
Last spring, the Trump administration released a budget proposal that would have gutted approximately $1 billion in funding for Indian country. This included a proposal to functionally end the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Education Construction Fund, which maintains and builds schools operated by the BIE. FCNL reported on this proposal and lobbied against it. You can read our analysis of the program here and here. BIE funding was protected in the final legislation.
Beyond school construction, the appropriations package preserves broader Indian education funding, including operational support for BIE schools and grant programs that serve 183 schools and 33 Tribal colleges and universities. These continued appropriations help sustain teacher staffing, Native language and cultural programs, scholarships, and connectivity for remote learning. All this was threatened by the administration’s budget proposal but upheld by Congress in H.R. 6938.
20th Annual Government-to-Government Consultation on Violence Against Women
From January 21-23, the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women hosted its annual consultation period with tribal governments. The consultation solicited tribal input on administering VAWA-related funds and programs, enhancing safety from domestic and sexual violence, strengthening federal responses to violent crime, and improving access to crime information systems—all central to addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Persons (MMIW/P) crisis.
To learn more about what tribal governments are prioritizing in the work to end violence against Native women, visit our partners at the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, who are leading the struggle against the epidemic of MMIW/P.
Representative Doug LaMalfa Passes, Leaving Behind Momentous Legacy
Rep. Doug LaMalfa passed away in January. He consistently championed land management, forestry, and agricultural issues, all of which are central to tribal nations. Prior to his death, he introduced the Indian Buffalo Management Act. In a press release published the first time the bill was introduced (2023), Congressman LaMalfa stated:
“This bill will help bolster Tribal sovereignty, create economic opportunities, and ensure a stable supply of nutritious, locally sourced protein. Additionally…this program will greatly help with the InterTribal Buffalo Council’s (ITBC) goal of restoring buffalo herds on Indian reservation lands.”
U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (NM) and Markwayne Mullin (OK) reintroduced the bill this Congress. This legislation directs the Department of the Interior to collaborate with tribes and tribal organizations to support the development, ownership, and management of buffalo and buffalo habitat on Indian lands.
The American plains bison sustained a significant portion of Native American tribes in North America for centuries. Several Native American tribes used every part of the bison for food, clothing, shelter, tools, jewelry, and in ceremonies.
Prior to European colonization there were between 30 and 60 million bison. At the time, they were the widest-ranging large mammal in North America. During westward expansion in the 1870s, U.S. government officials sought to exterminate the plains bison by forcing Native Americans to surrender to the reservation system. The U.S. Army allowed animal hunters use their forts as bases of operation and did little to enforce treaty obligations forbidding colonists from hunting on Indian lands.
This legislation seeks to rectify this injustice by restoring food sovereignty to tribes.
What We’re Reading
- Millions in Mental Health Funding for Indigenous Communities Restored | Indian Country Today
- The Miccosukee Tribe Blocked Alligator Alcatraz. Then Trump Blocked a Bill to Return their Land. | Grist
- In Kane County’s New Bison Herd, a Chance for Native Americans to Reclaim What’s Lost | Chicago Sun-Times
- Michigan Spent $1.1M Probing Tribal Boarding Schools | The Daily Mining Gazette (note: report has not yet been published)
- The Prediction Market Boom is Posing an Existential Threat to American Indian Gaming | Brookings
