Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Tribal leaders from across the country spoke out last week at a U.S. Senate hearing against recent changes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Others are eyeing how potential cuts to the department’s Indian Health Service (IHS) could affect Native communities. The Alaska Desk reporter Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. HHS announced in March that it would cut 20,000 health jobs and close regional offices. That was in response to an executive order from President Trump to optimize the workforce across the federal government. The senate hearing looked at how that decision could harm HHS programs that benefit Native Americans. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) chaired the hearing. “These aren’t just federal services. They’re really critical components of the social safety net, and my view is that these programs support family stability, child development and basic dignity.” One of the witnesses at the hearing was Melissa Charlie, the executive director of the Fairbanks Native Association. The association provides a Tribal Head Start program offering educational and cultural activities. The association also receives HHS funds for emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence. “As women leave a domestic violence situation with just the clothes on their back, they can’t afford the temporary housing, not in Fairbanks, and especially in remote Alaska.” The senate hearing focused on HHS programs that are not part of IHS, but that agency might be also facing changes. The Trump administration has proposed cutting $900 million from IHS. William Smith is a National Indian Health Board Chairman. He said the proposal would lead to closure of clinics, losses of essential staffing, and an increase in preventative deaths in Native communities. “When we talk about the budget cuts to the Indian Health Service, these are not just budget numbers, you know. These are our lives.” Smith says that the federal government has treaty and trust obligations to ensure Native people have access to healthcare. “We paid with our land, we paid with our health, we paid with our culture.” The Indian Health Board wrote letters to the HHS secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., speaking up against the cuts. Sec. Kennedy was not at the Senate hearing, but was present at two Congressional hearings that same day. Sen. Murkowski said the concerns of tribal health officials will be shared with him. (Courtesy Elderberry Wisdom Farm) A farm in Salem, Oreg. that teaches Traditional Ecological Knowledge to youth has just had some federal funds unfrozen. After President Donald Trump took office this year, many federal agencies have weathered cuts, cancellations, and freezes. That includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which had previously approved three grants to Elderberry Wisdom Farm. Board president, Rose High Bear, explains its mission. “The roots of traditional ecological knowledge are grounded in our spirituality. And a lot of people have forgotten their traditions, and we need to restore our own native spirituality and our relationship with our oldest grandmother, the mother earth.” High Bear says U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR) helped restore one grant worth $750,000. Elderberry Wisdom Farm is now looking for interns to do Native stewardship practices. One will be planting trees in a lower-income area of Salem. “We have heat waves here in Salem, when you’ve got a low tree canopy, it can be 30 degrees hotter than in the more prosperous neighborhoods. So we’re really committed in a number of ways to help our ecosystem and to help our young people to get into careers that are more fulfilling to them.” High Bear says funding still remains a concern, as the internship program’s account will dry out next year.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.