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A new analysis by the Brookings Institution tallies nearly $470 million in federal funding taken from tribes and Native organizations early last year by the Department of Government Efficiency. Advocates at the Piikani Lodge Health Institute worked hard for years to secure an $8.5 million USDA grant to support local producers in and around the Blackfeet community. DOGE cut those funds before the tribe could use it. The cuts have far-reaching implications. More than half of de-obligated funds were for natural resources and environment work followed by agriculture. The Brookings analysis finds they disproportionately affect Native communities and concludes they violate the government’s trust and treaty obligation.
GUESTS
Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag), fellow at the Brookings Institution
Kim Paul (Blackfeet Nation), founder and co-executive director of Piikani Lodge Health Institute
James Meggesto (Onondaga), partner and the head of Native American practice at Holland & Knight
Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)
Break 2 Music: I Saw the Witch Cry (song) Anasazi (artist)
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