The European Union and NATO member states are just now starting to realize something that Indigenous North American tribes have known from the beginning: The US cannot be trusted to keep its word. Ever. The first written treaty between the US and any tribe was the ‘Treaty with the Delawares’ signed in 1778. The treaty provided that the tribe would allow US troops safe passage across Delaware land in recognition of the sovereignty of that land. The US would ultimately, unilaterally, declare the valuable land between present-day Pittsburgh and Detroit as their own. This was the beginning of a trend that continues to this day.

One of the primary reasons the US government has been so unreliable is the nature of its construction. With presidential elections occurring every four years, what one administration establishes the next may want to abolish. If one wants to change a treaty, the legal way to do so is to create a new treaty laying out new expectations. Rarely has that happened, though. More often than not, the US either takes what it wants or uses force in violation of the treaties.

You didn’t think all those tribes wanted to relocate to Oklahoma, did you?

This time around, the administration is removing funding and employees from programs the US is obligated to provide. A Jan. 30 order from the Interior Department titled “Ending DEI Programs and Gender Ideology Extremism” stated that any efforts to eradicate diversity, equity, and inclusion in the department’s policy should exclude trust obligations to tribal nations. Guess what: that’s against the law.

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is responsible for providing educational opportunities for Native Americans and Alaska Natives across the country, part of the U.S. government’s trust responsibilities — the legal and moral obligations the U.S. has to protect and uphold treaties, laws and congressional acts dealing with tribes.

“There are 183 Bureau-funded elementary and secondary schools, located on 64 reservations in 23 states, serving approximately 42,000 Indian students,” according to the BIE’s website. “Of these, 55 are BIE-operated, and 128 are tribally operated.” When the US government violates its trust responsibilities, the wheels quickly start to fall off.

So, on Friday (March 7) Lawyers at the Native American Rights Fund filed the suit against the heads of the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Office of Indian Education Programs on behalf of the Pueblo of Isleta, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. The tribes allege in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that they were not consulted when the federal government laid off several employees at the two colleges under the purview of the BIE.

The BIE has been a troubled institution from the very beginning. While the treaties in question demand that tribal children receive a full education, the same as any other student, there were far too many decades where the government misused those treaties in an attempt to homogenize and eliminate tribal culture. Students were punished for speaking their native languages and observing tribal rituals. The number of children who died at tribal schools is still unknown as efforts to find them have met with government roadblocks.

The schools that remain are now more likely to be under tribal administration with more of an emphasis on preserving the culture that was almost wiped out. Native languages are encouraged. Deep-dive studies into Indigenous cultures are sometimes required. What hasn’t changed is the government’s responsibility to fund these schools.

Unfortunately, no president has ever taken the responsibility of tribal education seriously. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has highlighted for several years significant understaffing at the BIE that has impacted its ability to monitor and assist schools. No one at the government level has paid any attention. Tribal leadership is often reluctant to complain because of a history of retribution when they do so.

Recent cuts have had stark effects. Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas lost over a quarter of its staff, including “the Dean of Students, instructors, property management specialists, coaches, tutors, residential advisors, academic advisors, custodians, and food services employees” as well as its only bus driver, the lawsuit states. It also notes that Haskell’s student center has been shuttered and students reported their financial aid has either been delayed or has not been disbursed.

Students also reported reduced meal sizes, bathrooms without toilet paper, and classes that are now being taught by deans who do not have the same expertise as the professors who were fired. Students at other schools reported lengthy power outages and unlivable dormitory conditions.

The way the US government treats our Indigenous population is a disgrace. In 2020, 9.6 million people in the United States identified as having some Native American heritage. This represents 2.9% of the US population. Yet, they are continually under-represented even in states such as Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona where tribal identification is the highest. When they do send representatives to Washington, their needs are too often ignored. The US government is quite happy keeping Indigenous peoples poor and undereducated.

Unfortunately, many tribal citizens feel that attempting to take on the government is useless. Only 66 percent of known eligible Native Americans are registered to vote. In the 2024 election members of the Fort Peck tribe of Montana were required to travel 30 to 60 miles to vote after being denied a satellite election office in a more accessible location for voters on the reservation. Similarly, Native voters in multiple states were denied the ability to vote using their tribal identification cards, including in Wisconsin, where tribal IDs are legally accepted.

If they were all sufficiently organized with determination and understanding of the law, Indigenous tribes could dramatically alter the American form of government. Were they all to declare complete sovereignty and independence, taking back their historical lands, state boundaries would have to be redrawn, and representation in Congress would look significantly different.

That’s a big ask, though. Tribal organization is loose and few possess the understanding of US law to sufficiently challenge the many discrepancies. As a result, the government takes advantage of the situation and runs roughshod over the tribes any chance they get.

In a letter sent Thursday to GSA Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian and exclusively shared with The Associated Press, Arizona Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly expressed serious concern about the announced closure of the BIA’s regional office in Phoenix, one of the department’s largest.

“Its closure will severely limit access for all of these tribes to essential services ranging from economic development to child social services to water system improvements,” the senators wrote. “The federal government is at serious risk of failing at its most basic obligations, including breaking long-held promises to tribes.”

Martin Harvier, president of the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community in Phoenix told AP, “If they’re going to start shutting down the office, that means all of us on the other end are waiting for a response, and it just delays things that we’re trying to move forward. Whether it be a family waiting for a probate to happen or a family waiting for a lease so they can build a home on their lot or economic development.”

“I think all of the tribal nations are just very concerned right now,” he said. “We just don’t know what to expect.”

That’s what happens with the US government. No one knows what to expect next. They can’t be trusted.