 — The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) joins Tribal Nations across the country in mourning the passing of Spike Bighorn, a respected Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux leader, former Tribal Chairman, and longtime public servant. Bighorn dedicated his life to strengthening Tribal governance and improving federal programs serving Native people, including years of leadership within the Bureaus of Indian Affairs and Indian Education, where he worked to make systems more responsive to Tribal Nations and Native students. He was equally committed to inspiring the next generation, speaking directly to Native high school students through initiatives such as the “I Care If You Graduate!” series to encourage them to pursue education and overcome barriers.

Beyond his work in government, Bighorn was known as a rezball legend and one of the first Native American referees to officiate at Montana state basketball tournaments, opening doors for future generations of Native athletes and officials and inspiring Native youth far beyond the court.

“Spike Bighorn’s life was defined by service to his people,” said NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. “From the council chambers at Fort Peck to his work in federal service and his example on the basketball court, he showed what it means to lead with humility, integrity, and love for community. NCAI extends our deepest condolences to his family, the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, and all who were touched by his leadership and friendship.”

NCAI honors the life and legacy of Spike Bighorn and commits to carrying forward his vision of strong, self-determined tribal nations, thriving Native students, and resilient Native communities across Indian Country.

About the National Congress of American Indians:


Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of Tribal governments and communities, promoting strong Tribal-federal government-to-government policies and a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people, and rights.

National Congress of American Indians Mourns the Passing of Former Fort Peck Tribal Chairman Spike Bighorn

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) strongly requests the Department of Education (ED) immediately hold meaningful Tribal consultation on its transfer of the administration of programs across Elementary and Secondary Education as well as Postsecondary Education to agencies outside of ED. This decision by ED, done without input from Tribes, weighs heavily on the future of our next generation, as NCAI underscored in our March 2025 statement on proposed transfers of Tribal-serving education programs. 

The Administration has had more than eight months to engage in meaningful, government-to-government consultation with Tribal Nations before taking final action. Rather than fulfill its trust and treaty obligations to the Native learners of this country, ED announced the dismantling and transfer of Native education programs on November 18, 2025 — during NCAI’s 82nd Annual Convention & Marketplace — at the very moment when Tribal leaders, Native educators, youth, and stakeholders had gathered to discuss these issues and, together, passed two resolutions reaffirming the need to protect Native education programs and honor Tribal consultation. Moving forward with these inter-agency agreements without prior, robust consultation not only disregards the federal trust and treaty responsibility, it sidelines the very governments most impacted by changes to Title VI, Native language, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian education, Tribal college programs, and Impact Aid.

“We gathered in Seattle for NCAI’s 82nd Annual Convention & Marketplace to strengthen Tribal sovereignty, protect our children’s futures, and speak with one voice on issues just like this,” said NCAI President Mark Macarro. “Instead, while Tribal leaders, educators, and students were meeting in good faith and passing resolutions to safeguard Native education, key programs were dismantled and reassigned without the meaningful, government-to-government consultation we have been calling for since March. Our message is simple: Do not make decisions about Native education without Native Nations at the table. We expect the Departments of Education, Interior, and Labor to pause implementation and immediately engage in formal consultation with Tribal leaders to ensure these changes strengthen — not weaken — services to our children and communities.”

Last week, NCAI passed two resolutions related to the ED actions: SEA-25-024, '

Requiring Tribal Consent in All Matters Related to the Education of American Indian and Alaska Native Students and Changes to the Department of Education' 

Protection of Native Serving Programs by Ensuring Robust Staffing Levels for all Indian Education Programs

.' Through these resolutions, NCAI opposes “the dismantlement or winding down of the U.S. Department of Education and the signing of Inter-Agency Transfers without Tribal Consultation and Tribal consent,” demands Tribal consultation happen before any programs are transferred, and demands, if programs are transferred, that ED detail all current staff with the expertise of administering the programs and funding transferred to the recipient agencies.

NCAI calls on the Department of Education, the Interior, and Labor to immediately conduct formal Tribal leader-driven consultation on all aspects of these transfers — including Interior’s capacity to absorb additional responsibilities — before further implementation proceeds. NCAI further calls on Congress to immediately schedule oversight hearings on the ED action, focusing on the lack of Tribal involvement in the decision-making process and the impact of any proposed transfer of funding and programs on Native learners.

Together with Tribal Nations, Native educators, families, and students, NCAI stands ready to work with the Administration and Congress to design solutions that truly honor Tribal sovereignty and strengthen — not undermine — Native education. Our children deserve more than unilateral decisions made without their Nations at the table; they deserve stable, well-resourced programs that reflect their languages, cultures, and inherent rights. NCAI will continue to press for full transparency, robust consultation, and concrete action to ensure that every change in federal education policy moves us closer to educational equity, Native self-determination, and brighter futures for the next seven generations.

About the National Congress of American Indians:

NCAI Calls for Immediate Meaningful Tribal Consultation Prior to Transfer of Native Education Programs

Officers elected to serve on the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Executive Committee for the 2025–2027 term were sworn in Friday during the final general assembly of NCAI's 82nd Annual Convention & Marketplace in Seattle, Washington. The Convention brought together Tribal leaders, delegates, and citizens from across Indian Country to conduct the vital business of the organization and elect its leadership.

Following nominations and candidate speeches earlier in the week, NCAI delegates and individual members voted Thursday to elect the following leaders who will guide the organization’s work for a two-year term:

Mark Macarro, Chairman, Pechanga Band of Indians

Brian Weeden, Chairman, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Christie Modlin, Secretary, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma

Ashley Cornforth, Secretary/Treasurer, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

A full list of NCAI’s Executive Committee, including Regional Vice Presidents and Alternate Vice Presidents, is available on NCAI’s website at 

“These elections are more than a procedural step — they are a statement of who we are as Tribal Nations,” said NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. “At a time when a federal government shutdown, funding uncertainty, and travel disruptions could have kept people home, Indian Country chose to show up. Our delegates and members traveled long distances, navigated changing flight schedules and worked through real hardships because they understand the power of coming together. That commitment is what strengthens Tribal sovereignty and ensures our voices are heard at every level of government.”

The record turnout and successful elections demonstrate the resilience of Tribal leaders and communities. “Even when the federal government is gridlocked, Indian Country is not,” Wright continued. “We come together to debate, even disagree at times, but ultimately unite around a shared agenda for our people. The leaders elected this week carry the trust of their Tribal Nation and Indian Country as a collective. Together, we will press for stable funding, respect for Tribal sovereignty and solutions that reflect our Nations’ priorities.”

The newly elected Executive Committee will work alongside NCAI’s team, members, partners, and allies to advance policy priorities — including those reflected in the nearly 100 resolutions passed via consensus by NCAI membership this week — that uphold Tribal sovereignty, protect treaty and trust obligations, and improve the lives of Native people across the United States.


National Congress of American Indians Announces 2025 Election Results at 82nd Annual Convention & Marketplace

 – The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) today released the Tribal Workforce Development Toolkit 2.0 at its Annual Convention in Seattle, Washington. This updated, comprehensive resource is designed to help Tribal Nations, Native organizations, and Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) make informed, strategic decisions that strengthen local workforces and economies. Building on the original 2018 edition used by Tribal governments and partners across Indian Country, the new toolkit distills effective practices and lessons learned from the field, adding practical tools that leaders can apply immediately. Toolkit 2.0 includes:

15 strategic considerations for workforce development;

30 “Indian Country Snapshot” summaries of leading workforce development approaches;

a new “Visualizing Workforce Development” infographic section;

100+ governance self-assessment questions; and

80+ policy tips based on lessons learned and proven strategies from the field.

“Toolkit 2.0 reflects the wisdom and practicality of Tribal self-determination, and the innovation that follows when that self-determination is fully and freely expressed,” said NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. “We are grateful to the Northwest Area Foundation for its continued partnership in making accessible governance resources available to Tribal leaders and practitioners.”

“As someone who led an intertribal workforce development non-profit organization in my home state of Louisiana for more than two decades, I can say firsthand that this extraordinary resource should be 

 go-to desk reference for Tribal leaders, workforce development practitioners, and others who do the hard work of developing the workforce skills of Native people each and every day,” said Lora Ann Chaisson, Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation and NCAI Alternate Vice-President for the Southeast Region. “It translates proven Indian Country strategies and effective approaches into practical steps we can replicate to build our Nations for the next seven generations.”

“This toolkit is an amazing blueprint and roadmap to build our capacity for sustaining self-determination and self-governance for the next 50 years,” added Regis Pecos, Former Governor of Pueblo de Cochiti. “Thank you, NCAI, for your vision and highlighting the many extraordinary ways people across Indian Country are responding to their respective challenges in incredibly resilient ways.”

To access the digital version of the new toolkit and its online resource center, please visit: 

. Limited printed copies upon request on a first-come, first-served basis.

NCAI Launches Version 2.0 of “Tribal Workforce Development” Toolkit to Drive Strategic Decision Making and Action Across Indian Country

Today, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) opened its 82nd Annual Convention & Marketplace in Seattle, Washington. The Convention will run through Friday, November 21. As the nation’s largest and longest-running convening dedicated to Tribal sovereignty and self-determination, the NCAI Annual Convention brings together Tribal leaders, youth, elders, advocates, and partners from across Indian Country to set a unified policy agenda, conduct organizational business, and celebrate Native innovation and culture.

“Each year, NCAI’s Annual Convention serves as Indian Country’s compass – we deliberate, decide, and deliver on priorities that strengthen Tribal Nations,” said NCAI President Mark Macarro. “Seattle’s deep ties to Native peoples and its role as a national hub for innovation make it an ideal host city for our 82nd convention.”

“From plenary sessions and federal briefings and consultation to committee work and the resolutions process, this gathering is where collaboration becomes action,” said NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. “This week, we’ll navigate hard, honest conversations about the current climate of our Tribal Nations and amplify the important work to protect our most vulnerable and our sovereignty. Our charge is clear: turn dialogue into action that safeguards children, honors elders, and strengthens every Tribal Nation.”

Throughout the week, attendees will participate in General Assembly sessions featuring national addresses from Tribal leadership and federal partners, engage in policy meetings that inform NCAI’s advocacy, and consider and vote on resolutions that guide the organization’s positions on issues impacting Tribal Nations. The Marketplace will showcase Native businesses, artists, nonprofits, and government and corporate partners. Programming will uplift intergenerational leadership through youth and elder engagement and offer opportunities to celebrate the cultures and traditions of Tribal Nations.

NCAI Opens 82nd Annual Convention & Marketplace in Seattle, Washington

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) welcomes the bipartisan agreement passed by Congress to reopen the federal government and restore stability to critical services relied upon by Tribal Nations and families across the country. We acknowledge lawmakers from both parties worked through significant differences to reach this outcome and keep key programs operating through the end of the year. We look forward to President Trump signing this into law and for funding to start flowing to Tribal Nations soon.

This agreement, coupled with the continuing availability of advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service (IHS), helps ensure Native patients and providers experience fewer disruptions in care. During the shutdown, IHS operations remained largely open because of advance appropriations — an important legislative victory Indian Country fought for — and today’s action helps maintain that stability as other agencies resume operation.

But stability also depends on Congress extending the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. If allowed to lapse, average premium payments for subsidized Marketplace enrollees, which includes Tribal Citizens and Employees, are projected to more than double in 2026, driving coverage losses and pushing more uncompensated care onto hospitals and local governments — costs that ultimately raise prices for everyone. NCAI is encouraged by a growing number of members of Congress who are coming together to negotiate a deal that would prevent sharp premium hikes, coverage losses, and downstream strain on community health systems.

Importantly, reopening the government restores funding for nutrition assistance programs — including SNAP — so states can resume issuing benefits that millions of families experienced during the shutdown.

Still, this moment underscores an enduring reality: temporary fixes are not enough. Government shutdowns and stop-gap funding force Tribal governments to divert time and resources away from serving our people. NCAI renews our call for Congress and the Administration to enact forward funding and, where appropriate, mandatory funding for all Tribal programs — across IHS, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and other federal agencies — to fully honor trust and treaty obligations and shield essential services from political brinkmanship. Data and testimonies obtained during the shutdown made clear how fragile the status quo is for Tribal communities; the solution is lasting, structural funding reform.

NCAI stands ready to work with our bipartisan champions to ensure that the lessons of this shutdown lead to permanent protections for Tribal Nations and the citizens we serve.

NCAI Statement on Bipartisan Agreement to Reopen the Federal Government 

WASHINGTON, D.C. | The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) calls on the Administration to immediately utilize United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) emergency funds for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure uninterrupted benefits across Indian Country, so no person goes hungry. One in four Tribal citizens experiences food insecurity. As a result, an estimated 170,000–500,000 Tribal members who are unable to participate in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) participate in SNAP. 

Allowing SNAP to go unfunded for the first time in the program’s history is a choice. Healthy food access is not optional. As of November 5, 2025, we are now in the longest shutdown in American history. Indian Country will not accept austerity imposed on our most vulnerable families and communities because of federal political impasse.

“If the United States can simply suspend access to food during a shutdown, then every promise to safeguard our rights and well-being becomes conditional on political convenience. That is unacceptable by any measure,” said NCAI President Mark Macarro. “The federal trust responsibility exists because this government took our homelands and pledged to protect Tribal Nations’ welfare. SNAP is an important mechanism to guarantee that responsibility by making certain that our children, families, and communities are fed. Let this be the last time that Native American Heritage Month opens with hunger instead of honor.”

November 1, 2025, the day that SNAP benefits stopped, was also the first day of Native American Heritage Month — a time to reflect on the contributions of Native Americans and Alaska Natives to this country, as well as the sacrifices made that give rise to the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations.

Indian Country cannot simply “fill the gap” left by this shutdown. The ability to build fully resourced, sovereign food systems has been systematically obstructed by federal policy for generations. In fact, the failure to fund SNAP evokes one of the darkest chapters of federal policy when the United States sought to eliminate buffalo to starve Tribal Nations of their food supply. This moment carries the same disregard for our humanity. The United States cannot spend over two centuries destroying, then preventing Tribal Nations from developing independent food infrastructure, and now act as if withholding federal obligations is a neutral act. Refusing to fund SNAP results in immediate material harm created by the same federal system that led to these conditions in the first place.

NCAI has been working closely with the Native Farm Bill Coalition, as a founding member, to address this issue and ensure this Administration immediately supports the continuity of benefits for SNAP recipients until Congress reopens the government, supports Tribal administration and self-governance options, and honors, in practice, the federal trust responsibility demonstrated through SNAP.

NCAI Calls on the Administration to Honor the Federal Trust Responsibility: Restore Full Funding for Nutrition Programs Serving Tribal Nations

 – The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) mourns the passing of Eugenia “Gena” Tyner-Dawson, a longtime federal and Tribal policy leader working to make Tribal communities safer and eliminate the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis.

Gena, a native of Wichita, Kansas, was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation and descendant of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. Her career began in law enforcement and direct Tribal service as a Certified Peace Officer in Oklahoma. She spent 11 years serving her own Tribal Nation – directing core community programs and serving in multiple governance roles including volunteering as a deputy court clerk and reserve police officer.

From there, she became a lobbyist for Tribal governments and national Tribal organizations in Washington, D.C. She entered federal service in 1998 with the Indian Health Service (IHS), Office of Tribal Self-Governance. She spent nearly 30-years working throughout the federal government, most recently serving for 7 years in the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) as Senior Policy Advisor for the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Justice Policy Coordinator, and as the Not Invisible Act Coordinator the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services. Gena retired from federal service in February 2025. Even in retirement she was a fierce advocate for her community, recently running for and being elected Treasurer for Sac and Fox Nation.

Before joining the DOI, she spent over two decades working in federal leadership across the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and IHS impacting Tribal policy at national scale, including her time as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Attorney General for Tribal Affairs & Executive Director of the DOJ Justice Programs Council on Native American Affairs. She also served as Acting Executive Director of the HHS Intradepartmental Council on Native American Affairs and Acting Deputy Director of the Indian Health Service.

A trusted advisor to Cabinet-level leadership across multiple federal departments, Gena directed major Tribal government programs in housing, social services, education, public safety, health, and governance. In recognition for her exceptional leadership in advancing Tribal sovereignty and intergovernmental coordination, she was awarded the 2019 NCAI Governmental Leadership Award and honored by the Sac and Fox Nation at the 2019 Executive Council Winter Session.

“Gena believed that if we worked together we could create a better future for our children, families and communities,” said Meghan Bishop, Director of Policy who worked closely with Gena at DOI. “Gena was tough, fierce, and held everyone to account - she believed firmly in a future that was free of violence and full of hope.”

“For decades, Eugenia advanced Tribal public safety and justice – linking federal policy to on-the-ground solutions for MMIP, survivor support, and law enforcement capacity,” said NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. “Because of her leadership, more Tribal Nations have the tools to protect our people and pursue justice. We honor her by continuing this work with urgency and purpose.”

NCAI extends our deepest condolences to the Tyner-Dawson family, Sac and Fox Nation, and to all who are grieving the loss of such a hero. We honor her dedication and integrity through our work as we carry on the legacy of her achievements.

NCAI Mourns the Passing of Eugenia Tyner-Dawson

In this episode of The Sentinel, we honor and celebrate the Two-Spirit community. We uncover the origins of the term ‘Two-Spirit’ and how Native people acknowledge and reclaim this tradition and identity today. We listen to recorded excerpts from the Two-Spirit Panel held at the 2025 NCAI Executive Council Winter Session, where our panelists and guests discussed the community's current challenges and how tribal leaders can advocate for their Two-Spirit relatives.

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