Tlingit & Haida has issued a strong statement opposing proposed federal legislation that would significantly undermine Indigenous sovereignty, strip environmental protections, and accelerate the privatization of traditional tribal homelands.
The Tribe’s opposition comes on the heels of massive cuts to the Department of the Interior workforce and the gutting of the Bureau of Indian Affairs through President Trump’s Executive Orders and Fiscal Year 2025 Discretionary Funding Request — actions that further threaten tribal self-determination and federal trust responsibilities.
At the center of the Tribe’s recent letter of opposition are two sweeping measures: H.R. 1, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and a draft budget reconciliation bill from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (SENR) Committee. In a resolution adopted by Tlingit & Haida’s Executive Council on June 24, 2025, the Tribe condemned both bills for placing short-term corporate profit above Indigenous rights, environmental stewardship, and community well-being.
“These bills are an affront to our sovereignty, our lands, and our way of life,” said President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson. “They would gut essential health and food security programs, roll back climate resilience funding, and allow the exploitation of our sacred homelands without even basic tribal consultation. This is not just bad policy—it is a betrayal of the federal trust responsibility to tribal nations.”
The Tribe’s formal letter of opposition, addressed to Alaska’s congressional delegation, highlights numerous concerns including the rollback of clean energy investments, expansion of extractive industries in sensitive ecosystems like the Arctic and Tongass, and the erosion of key federal protections under laws such as the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
H.R. 1 includes provisions that would dismantle environmental programs, impose harmful and limiting work requirements on Medicaid and SNAP recipients in rural areas, and weaken public health coverage across Alaska—where nearly 40% of residents rely on Medicaid. The SENR proposal further exacerbates threats to rural and tribal communities by mandating oil and gas lease sales in culturally sensitive areas, taxing renewable energy projects that many of our communities desperately need, and authorizing the privatization of public lands for development without tribal consultation.
Tlingit & Haida calls on federal lawmakers to reject these and related bills outright and reaffirm their commitment to government-to-government consultation, the protection of subsistence rights, and a just transition to a sustainable energy future.
Key Threats Identified in the Bills:
Clean Energy Rollbacks
The proposed legislation guts critical renewable energy programs that rural and Tribal communities rely on, including microgrids, solar, and hydro projects essential to reducing diesel dependence.
Cuts to Food & Health Assistance
Work requirements and funding cuts to SNAP and Medicaid jeopardize food and healthcare access for thousands of Alaskans—especially those in rural and Native communities already facing high costs and limited infrastructure. Although the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry released revised text that would exempt Alaska Native and American Indians, we need to ensure the SNAP work requirement exemption for Tribes stays in the final bill.
Privatization of Public & Sacred Lands
Both bills fast-track timber sales and land privatization—including within the Tongass National Forest—bypassing environmental review, ignoring Tribal consultation, and threatening subsistence resources and sacred cultural sites.
Expansion of Extractive Industries
The bills promote unchecked oil, gas, coal, and mining development in ecologically sensitive areas like the Arctic Refuge, Cook Inlet, and the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, risking irreversible harm to land, water, and cultural lifeways. Southeast Alaska is also in the crosshairs of this administration for extractive potential.
Take Action: Make Your Voice Heard
Tlingit & Haida urges all tribal citizens, allies, and concerned Alaskans to contact their federal representatives and oppose H.R. 1,the SENR budget proposal, and President Trump’s proposed budget for 2026. Tell Congress to honor tribal sovereignty and protect our lands, waters and communities.
Find and contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives in Alaska:
You can find contact information for U.S. Senators and Representatives in Washington State here.
You can also search for legislators using a ZIP code at www.congress.gov/members.
Your voice matters and we ask that you stand with Tlingit & Haida in defending Indigenous lifeways and the future of our homelands.
To learn more about President Trump’s proposed budget and its impact on Alaska Native and American Indian communities and programs, click here.
Reference Documents
Please note developments surrounding the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the draft budget reconciliation proposal from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee are evolving rapidly. As such, some information contained in this web story and Tlingit & Haida’s letter to the congressional delegation may no longer reflect the most current legislative status. We remain committed to providing updates as more information becomes available.