Billy Kirkland, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs for President Donald Trump’s administration, delivers the keynote address for the 2026 Government to Government Conference at the Bismarck Event Center on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota tribal leaders say greater sovereignty is key to protecting their communities amid uncertain federal support.
“We come from a proud people who have always stood up for our rights, for our lands, for our resources,” Steve Sitting Bear, chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, said during a Wednesday presentation.
The comments came during the eighth annual Government to Government Conference in Bismarck. The event brings leaders of the five tribal nations that share geography with North Dakota and state officials together to discuss ways they can collaborate more effectively.
Jamie Azure, chair of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, called on leaders to do more than pay lip service to this idea, especially given the unpredictable future of federal programs under President Donald Trump’s administration.
“We ask that we get past the words — we ask that we have true partnerships moving forward because of the threats to our ways of life with potential cuts at the federal level,” he said.
The federal government is legally obligated to provide certain ongoing support to tribal nations.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, led by former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, has recommended cutting more than $1 billion in funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education for the 2027 budget year.
The proposal includes a more than $150 million reduction for tribal higher education. In a congressional budget hearing last month, Burgum questioned the cost-effectiveness of tribal colleges and universities compared to other institutions.
Azure in his Wednesday speech said tribal higher education institutions support Native students in ways that other schools can’t.
“It’s community — it’s not only a college,” he said.
Azure said he’s proud of how North Dakota tribes have navigated interruptions and cuts to federal support so far. For example, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa set aside $1.5 million to support tribal citizens when the federal government shutdown temporarily suspended major safety net services, he said.
Azure said tribal, state and federal leaders must do more to promote public safety in tribal communities. He urged the state of North Dakota and tribes to improve the implementation of the Feather Alert, the alert for missing, endangered or abducted Indigenous adults created by the state Legislature in 2025.
Billy Kirkland, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs for the Trump administration, delivered the keynote address for the conference. Kirkland is a citizen of the Navajo Nation.
He said the Department of the Interior’s focus is cutting red tape that prevents tribal nations from exercising their independence.
“Indian Country isn’t a problem to be solved, but a partner to be empowered,” he said.
One priority of the Department of the Interior is working to eliminate the ongoing backlog of tribal probate cases, Kirkland said. The agency will soon establish a platform that allows people to submit and track their cases online, he said.
Another one of the Interior Department’s goals is making tribal land safer, Kirkland added. He noted that Burgum last month signed a secretary’s order establishing the Indian Country Violent Crime Task Force.
Mark Fox, chair of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, in his presentation said tribes should pursue policy changes that enable them to develop their own economies and infrastructure, and not count on the federal government for financial support.
“Never will the United States come in and put enough capital — in my estimation, somewhere around maybe a trillion dollars — into all the Indian reservations and build back what they destroyed,” Fox said. “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever are they going to do that. They’re basically going to hand feed you enough to survive.”
Sisseton-Wahpeton Chair J. Garret Renville in his presentation urged federal officials to consult with tribal leaders on policy decisions that affect their communities.
“I know this administration wants to make things more efficient, and so do we,” he said.
He applauded new federal rules implementing the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act, which supporters have celebrated as a win for tribal economic development. Renville said federal officials worked with him and other tribal leaders to develop the rules.
Burgum in 2018 started the first Government to Government Conference with former North Dakota Indian Affairs Commissioner Scott Davis.
This year’s conference wraps up Thursday.
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