Tribe watchful for federal government shutdown impacts

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

As the shutdown of the federal government continues, Tribal Communications Director Sara Thompson said it’s not yet clear what impacts, if any, there will be on the Tribe.

“The Tribe is staying up to speed on the federal government shutdown,” Thompson said. “While we haven’t had any immediate impacts, we are monitoring developments closely for any shifts that would threaten the stability of Tribal programs or Tribal funding. As always, we are committed to providing services and programming to the Tribal membership and Grand Ronde community.”

Some 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed since the shutdown began Wednesday, Oct. 1, and President Donald Trump has threatened to lay off thousands of federal workers, shut down programs Democrats favor and pause or cancel billions of dollars in funding to blue states if the shutdown continues.

Native News Online reported on Oct. 1 that “The Bureau of Indian Affairs is set to furlough more than half of its employees across the country.”

However, the overall effects on Indian Country are still unknown. “Departments and agencies across the federal government that support Tribes with health care, education, public safety, environmental protection and housing have executed different staffing orders,” the publication stated.

It also noted that Indian Health Service is exempt from shutdown orders and that the Bureau of Indian Education is also expected to continue operations across Indian Country.

Thompson noted that after the Tribe’s Restoration in 1983, leadership made independence and self-sufficiency a priority.

“They made certain financial decisions that can provide us with a certain level of stability during extended periods of uncertainty,” she said.

The Tribe does use federal funding for a number of programs, including Bureau of Indian Affairs contracts, Indian Health Service and Head Start programs.

“As a matter of practice, we try to use outside funding first, but if it’s not available we are fortunate to have Tribal resources to help withstand potential delays in funding,” Tribal Finance Officer Chris Leno said.

The Tribe operates on a calendar year system, while the federal government operates on a fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 of every year, so effects from the shutdown will not be felt immediately.

Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris Mercier said it’s difficult to know how things might go, in part because it’s impossible to know how long the shutdown will last.

“The shutdown just seems like one of many fires going on in our country,” he said.

He noted that the Tribe does have an advantage in being its own nation.

“I did have somebody ask if we were going to shut down,” Mercier said. “We’re our own sovereign nation here and no, we’re not shutting down like them. So far, the fact that the shutdown isn’t affecting us is a demonstration of how strong we can be as a nation.”

He added that individual members might be affected by loss of funding to federal programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the WIC program.

“If it goes on long enough and we start to feel it’s going to have an adverse effect on our members, I imagine we’ll convene and talk about it,” Mercier said.