On the heels of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a new report highlights how Donald Trump’s disastrous agenda is ripping away critical funding from Native tribes and communities. Trump has gutted clean energy investments that Tribal communities have spent years working toward. In Arizona, the Hopi Tribe was set to receive a $25 million grant through the Solar for All program to install solar panels and battery storage for 600 homes. That project — along with dozens of others — was canceled by Trump’s EPA. Plans for an 8-megawatt microgrid that depended on IRA tax credits and could power the entire Hopi reservation and create jobs were also scrapped overnight. 

In response, DNC Senior Spokesperson Marcus W. Robinson issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump’s budget isn’t just a bad deal — it’s a betrayal of trust and Native sovereignty. From defunding the Indian Health Service to ripping away clean energy programs that tribes have spent years developing, leading to skyrocketing utility costs, Trump is sending a clear message: Tribal nations don’t matter. But they matter to Democrats. We will continue fighting alongside Tribal leaders to defend their resources, their rights, and their future.”

In addition to scrapping job-creating clean energy programs, Trump’s deep cuts to Medicaid — the very program that fills chronic funding gaps for Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities — will devastate Native communities. Although Trump’s administration claimed to exempt Tribes from certain Medicaid restrictions, the reality is bleak: 70% of IHS reimbursements come from Medicaid, and those cuts mean fewer doctors, longer wait times, and reduced services for patients who already face barriers to care. Native health experts have warned that the result will be service shutdowns, higher mortality rates, and deepened inequities.

At the same time, a report from Portland State University revealed the extent of the damage, showing that nearly half of all federal funding for Northwest Tribal Nations — about $530 million — is now at risk. This funding supports essential programs for clean water, housing, education, land management, and environmental protection. Additionally, under Trump’s budget, the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget was slashed by a billion dollars, and essential energy projects were canceled.