DENVER — The administration’s decision to revoke a 2023 executive order that strengthened federal support and funding for Tribal Nations, emphasizing Tribal sovereignty and self-determination, will undermine Tribal Nations’ efforts to steward their lands, resources, and waters and provide services to their communities. The administration’s actions also ultimately threaten the very sovereignty of Tribal Nations.

“The 2023 executive order was designed to get rid of burdensome federal regulations that prevented Tribes from efficiently meeting the needs of their communities. It actually did what the president says he wants to do: it made the federal government more effective by empowering Tribal leaders with the autonomy and funding necessary to govern effectively,” said Gloria Tom, senior strategic and special policy advisor at the National Wildlife Federation. “Revoking this executive order is a giant step backward in respecting Tribal sovereignty, furthering Tribal partnerships, and restoring trust between Tribal communities and the federal government.”