Native Nations

Native American Affairs policies did not figure prominently in the policy priorities articulated by President-elect Donald Trump during his 2024 campaign. However, policies implemented during his first term provide useful insights. The incoming administration’s focus on expanding oil and gas production will draw a mixed reception in Indian Country, as some tribes seek to maximize those resources while others are concerned about the negative impact expanded production will have on sensitive historical, cultural, and sacred sites in their historic homelands.

Key Policy Priorities:

• Resource development: While the Trump team has disavowed a connection with the “Project 2025” project, several former Department of the Interior personnel were involved in its development, and it does include a section on Native American Affairs. One of its main focuses is expanding oil and gas production in Indian Country. This includes potential support for projects like drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and mining in resource-rich areas like the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Again, while some energy-producing tribes may welcome the economic opportunities, there are significant concerns among some tribes about environmental impacts and risks to sacred tribal sites
• Challenges from past administration policies: During Trump’s previous presidency, there were controversial decisions affecting Native lands, such as efforts to make it more difficult to place land in trust for tribes, the withdrawal of a legal opinion relating to how the Supreme Court’s Carcieri decision should be implemented, and the attempted disestablishment of a reservation (something that has not happened since the Termination Era). His administration also faced criticism for failing to protect Native lands and sacred sites and destroying such sites during the construction of the southern U.S. border wall.  (The Native American Affairs section in the Interior Section of the “Project 2025” report is relatively thin, but it does include several references to needing to “secure the border” under the guise of protecting tribal lands.)
• Federal recognition: One of the few commitments made by President-elect Trump on specific tribal issues during his campaign was his promise to secure federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. He had made the same promise during his campaign in the 2016 election cycle.

Little has yet emerged from the President-elect regarding his plans for Indian Country in his second term. While his general focus on economic development could be beneficial, his focus on cutting federal spending and the federal workforce could have an adverse impact, and some tribal advocates are concerned about respect for tribal sovereignty, environmental justice, and long-term cultural impacts.