Native News
Monday Morning (April 6, 2026): Articles You May Have Missed This Past Weekend
Happy Monday Morning!
Here are some articles you may have missed this Easter holiday weekend:
The White House released the 92-page Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 President’s Budget Request on Good Friday, asking Congress to approve roughly $1.5 trillion in defense spending. With the Iran War of choice entering its fifth week, this request would represent a nearly 40 percent increase over current Pentagon funding levels, marking the highest level of military spending in modern U.S. history.
At the same time, the administration proposes $73 billion in cuts to domestic programs, targeting a wide range of agencies and eliminating or scaling back key investments in health care, housing, and education—programs that disproportionately support low-income communities and communities of color, including Indian Country.
Native News Online’s sister publication, Tribal Business News, reports that the FY2027 budget would slash hundreds of millions of dollars from tribal programs, including housing, Native lending, and critical health initiatives—echoing reductions that Congress rejected in the prior year’s appropriations process. The proposal reflects a broader rebalancing of federal priorities, increasing funding in defense while cutting or restructuring programs related to housing, health care, economic development, and infrastructure. Tribal programs receive little direct mention in the administration’s narrative, yet the underlying policy changes would affect nearly every sector of tribal economies.
FBI Announces Personnel Surge to MMIP Crisis
The FBI announced yesterday that it is dedicating additional personnel to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) crisis. The staffing surge supports Operations Not Forgotten, an initiative focused on solving violent crimes in Indian Country, particularly those against women and children.
Native communities face a disproportionate amount of violence, with a high number of cases going unsolved, which experts say is a result of inadequate public safety resources, jurisdictional confusion and federal apathy.
According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there are 4,200 unsolved MMIP cases, but advocates say that the actual number is likely much higher. In 2023, homicide was the fourth leading cause of death among Native men, and the sixth leading cause of death among Native women.
Photos of the Grand Valley State University Powwow
With steady rain outside and chilly temperatures throughout the day in West Michigan, attendees at the 25th annual “All Walks of Life Traditional” Powwow at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., enjoyed the comfort of being indoors on Saturday. Attendees were immersed in the sounds of drumming and singing as traditional Native dancers filled the powwow dance arena.
The powwow drew a record crowd, according to Tiburcio Lince, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Grand Valley State University.