2026 Policy Magazine
Social Resources
The essential purpose of a Tribal Nation’s sovereignty is to protect and defend its people — people who embody the deepest dreams and highest hopes of their ancestors and who will shape the lives of future generations. Sovereignty and self-determination enhance the lives of individual AI/AN people by supporting their health, well-being, education, cultural, and social support.
Colonialism fractured fundamental aspects of Tribal Nations’ cultures, including their social structures, community support systems, and familial relationships. Today, Tribal Nations are reclaiming their distinct lifeways by leveraging principles such as self-determination to steer their communities in ways that are responsive to their goals.
Whether through self-governance agreements, grants, or direct services provided by BIA, many social programs are provided in express satisfaction of the United States’ obligations under treaties that ceded land and guaranteed peace. Tribal Nations and their members continue the work of their ancestors, who made the expansion and composition of the United States possible.
Focus Areas and Goals:
To ensure that the United States continues to meet its obligations under its trust and treaty responsibilities, and that Tribal Nations maintain the discretion to meet the needs of their members as they choose, NCAI focuses on the following areas and goals:
Frozen Grant Funding
Track grant funding unlawfully frozen or rescinded from Tribal Nations, and distinguish the legal basis for these grants, which support the delivery of services pursuant to federal trust and treaty responsibilities, from that of grants issues for diversity, equitey, or inclusion initiatives.
In collaboration with the CTS and NARF, generate educational materials to help Tribal Nations recover unlawfully withheld grant funding, and support grant terms that maximize the expression of Tribal sovereignty
Supporting Tribal Food Sovereignty
FDPIR
Advocating for full and robust funding for this program, which provides USDA food to income-eligible households on reservations and within certain approved areas.
Supporting efforts to expand and make permanent a successful self-governance pilot program, in which Tribal Nations use the provided funds to directly administer the program rather than having USDA administer it.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Supporting self-determination programs that allow Tribal Nations to directly administer SNAP benefits to their members to ensure access to nutritious food for Tribal members, especially children and elders.
Demanding mandatory funding for SNAP and other essential programs and denouncing federal funding cuts and shutdowns that disrupt SNAP benefits for Tribal citizens as a breach of federal trust and treaty responsibilities.
Health and Well-being
IHS Reorganization
Supporting the IHS as a distinct and robust service provider and calling for full and sustained funding during government cutbacks and closures.
Working closely with Tribal Nations, Tribal organizations, and IHS regarding its proposed departmental realignment to advocate for the full and consistent delivery of medical services to Tribal members.
Dedicated Indian Health Programs:
Special Diabetes Program for Indians – Advocating for permanent authorization of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, with minimum appropriations of $500 million to expand service to AI/AN individuals throughout the United States.
AI/AN Maternal Health Legislative Package – Calling for dedicated legislation and expanded investment in AI/AN maternal health to prevent maternal and infant mortality through the development of culturally responsive resources and to adoption of all recommendations in the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children’s report, The Way Forward.
Environmental Health Impacts – Calling for human health impact assessments to be an explicit factor in evaluating projects that require an environmental impact statement under NEPA, with assessments addressing how projects might affect a community’s access to nutrition, economic resources, and social and psychological well-being.
HHS
Calling for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish clear guidance after meaningful consultation with Tribal Nations regarding any planned state amendments or proposals concerning state-operated Medicaid programs that would substantially affect Tribal populations.
Supporting the permanent codification of Tribal Advisory Committees within HHS to fully integrate Tribal perspectives and priorities into programs meant to fulfill federal trust and treaty responsibilities.
Endorsing CMS’s previous implementation of rules to allow states use waivers under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act to provide traditional health services reimbursement and supporting the expansion of the demonstration project to include Urban Indian Organizations.
Calling for HHS to discontinue the use of competitive grant programming, and implement a 15 percent set-aside for funding Tribal Nations’ health care services across all of its programs.
Associated Organizations:
National Indian Child Welfare Association
National Indian Health Board
National Council of Urban Indian Health
Native Farm Bill Coalition
TSG
National Indian Council on Aging
Associated Committees and Subcommittees:
Human Resources Committee
Land and Natural Resources Committee
Veterans Committee
Disabilities Subcommittee
Education Subcommittee
Elders Subcommittee
Health Subcommittee
Indian Child and Family Welfare Subcommittee
Trust Lands, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Subcommittee
Associated Task Forces:
Addiction Task Force
Native Languages Task Force
TANF Task Force
Two Spirit Task Force
VAW Task Force
Associated Legislation:
Native Children’s Commission Implementation Bill
Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) Act of 2025
SNAP Tribal Food Sovereignty Act
Past Year Achievements:
Ensured that Tribal members were exempted from changes to SNAP work requirements as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Participated in collaborative efforts to advocate for full and effective medical services during the IHS realignment effort.
Next Year Goals:
Support federal legislation that includes key Tribal provisions to improve the health and well-being of Indian country, including making the FDPIR demonstration program permanent.
Finalize and introduce the Native Children’s Commission Implementation Billand advocate for and participate in Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearings related to the bill.
Seek legislation that would expand access to and improve the effectiveness of HHS programs beyond IHS by expanding the scope of the ISDEAA.
Education
This portfolio is dedicated to the tireless advancement of educational equity and the protection of sovereign rights for AI/AN students. By leveraging rigorous policy analysis and strategic congressional advocacy, this work seeks to ensure that Tribal Nations and Native communities maintain a primary, authoritative voice in the federal policies and programs that govern their educational systems. From early childhood and K–12 through higher education and vocational training, the mission is to uphold the federal trust responsibility and ensure that Native students have access to culturally relevant, high-quality education.
Focus Areas and Goals:
Navigating Legal Challenges: Developing proactive, multi-front strategies to address and mitigate increasing legal threats to Indian education programs, Tribal preference, and the constitutionality of the ICWA as it relates to educational stability.
Federal Reorganization: Closely monitoring and influencing administrative shifts within BIE and ED. The goal is to ensure funding stability, eliminate bureaucratic redundancies, and maintain administrative consistency across federal agencies.
Strengthening Tribal Sovereignty in Education: Empowering Tribal Nations to exercise full jurisdiction over their schools, curricula, and teacher certification standards. This includes supporting the transition from federal control to Tribal operation through self-determination contracts and self-governance compacts.
Data Sovereignty: Advocating for the accurate collection and Tribal ownership of student data to ensure that federal funding formulas correctly reflect the needs of Indian country.
Key Collaborations and Partnerships:
Tribal Leaders: Facilitating continuous, high-level engagement with elected Tribal officials to ensure that national policy positions are rooted in community-level realities and respect the unique political status of each Tribal Nation.
Member Organizations: Coordinating an expansive network of education directors, specialists, and grassroots advocates from across Indian country to build a unified, advocacy front on Capitol Hill.
Executive Branch Advocacy: Engaging with federal agencies and national education initiatives to ensure that administrative priorities and funding streams align with the legislative and sovereign interests of NCAI member Tribal Nations.
Associated Organizations
American Indian Higher Education Consortium
National Indian Education Association
American Indian College Fund
NCAI Youth Commission
Associated Task Forces
Budget Task Force
Large Land Base Task Force
Associated Legislation
ESEA: Focusing on the reauthorization and robust funding of Title VI (Indian and Alaska Native Education) to support supplemental services and language programs.
Higher Education Act: Championing increased Pell Grant flexibility, the expansion of the Tribal College Act, and enhanced institutional aid for TCUs to address infrastructure and technology gaps.
TSG Act: Advocating for the expansion of this Act to allow more Tribal Nations to enter into compacts and contracts for BIE-funded education programs, moving toward full local control of educational systems.
ISDEAA
Past Year Achievements
In-Person ED Tribal Consultation (February): Attended and participated directly in the ED’s in-person Tribal consultation meeting in February, advocating before agency leadership for the protection of Native education initiatives, administrative consistency across agencies, and the fulfillment of federal trust obligations.
IAA Consultation Letter: Successfully drafted and submitted a comprehensive formal consultation letter regarding IAA. This effort helped ensure that Tribal interests were represented in complex federal interagency coordination efforts, seeking to prevent the dilution of educational services.
ECWS Education Panel: Orchestrated a high-level panel at the ECWS that brought together federal officials and Tribal leaders to navigate the complexities of federal reorganization and the rising legal challenges facing Indian education.
Coordinated Hill Visits: Led a diverse delegation of Tribal leaders and NCAI Youth Commission members to meet with key congressional offices. These visits provided critical, firsthand briefings on the necessity of sustained education funding and the impact of federal policy on the ground.
Youth Commission Advocacy: Developed and implemented a specialized training curriculum designed to prepare the NCAI Youth Commission for high-level congressional engagement during ECWS. This initiative provided young leaders with the technical policy knowledge and communication strategies necessary to effectively lead Hill visits and legislative briefings.
FY 2027 Grantmaking and FY 2028 Budget Consultations: Drafted and submitted comprehensive formal comments on ED’s FY 2027 grantmaking priorities and FY 2028 budget priorities, championing stable, mandatory formula funding, critical infrastructure investments, and policies that restore educational authority and decision-making to Tribal Nations.
Next Year Goals
Strategic Federal Interagency Engagement: Transitioning from reactive monitoring to formal participation in interagency working groups, specifically focusing on the implementation of E.O.s affect Tribal education and workforce development.
National Policy Brief Publication: Researching and distributing a comprehensive policy brief that provides a strategic roadmap for modernizing federal Native education programs and addressing the systemic "funding cliffs" that threaten the stability of Tribal learning environments.
Advanced Youth Advocacy Curriculum: Expanding the Youth Commission curriculum to include advanced modules on policy analysis and resolution drafting, ensuring that the next generation is equipped to navigate the full spectrum of the legislative process.
Tribal Consultation Tracking System: Establishing a standardized internal system to monitor federal agency compliance with Tribal consultation requirements, with the goal of ensuring that no policy affecting Native students is enacted without meaningful Tribal input.
