Tribal budget cuts, Indigenous advocate legacy, and historic Osage mineral update
VNN Weekly Digest June 9 - June 15
Here’s a look at the week’s top stories:
Federal Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Proposal sees reductions and eliminations for tribal funding
(WASHINGTON D.C.) The federal government is looking to make changes to the 2026 Fiscal Year budget, many affecting federally-recognized Tribes, including the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
The Trump Administration claims that the proposed recommendations for discretionary funding levels are to “restore confidence in America’s fiscal management” and that FY 2025 spending was “found to be laden with spending contrary to the needs of ordinary, working Americans.”
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Zitkala-Ša’s legacy living on through MMIP advocacy in Oklahoma
Pictured: Cheyenne and Arapaho MMIP Chair LaRenda Morgan dresses up as Zitkala-Ša for the Women Voters OKC Women's Suffragette Play
(OKLAHOMA) Living only to her early sixties, the legacy of Indigenous advocate Zitkala-Ša continues to impact the Native community, especially in MMIP chapters in Oklahoma, nearly 100 years after her death.
From publishing stories about the injustice she endured at Indian Boarding Schools to investigating Indigenous injustice facilitated by Oklahoma’s corrupt probate systems, Zitkala-Ša, a Yankton Sioux (Dakota) woman born on her Nation’s reservation in South Dakota, dedicated her life to advocating for Indigenous causes.
OMC poised to take over mineral estate management
(OSAGE RESERVATION) For the first time in its history, the Osage Minerals Council could manage production, permitting, and leasing of the Osage Mineral Estate – a shift that could occur within four months if approved.
On Wednesday, June 4, Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear sent a letter to OMC Chairman Myron Red Eagle stating he has been in negotiations with the Department of the Interior for the OMC to fully assume self-governance functions.
ICYMI
Acknowledging Indigenous Injustice: An Open Letter to Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols
On June 3, 2025, VNN | VNN Oklahoma President and CEO Kelly Tidwell (Muscogee and Cherokee) sent the following letter to Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols, requesting a meeting to discuss how the City plans to acknowledge and respond to the injustice it helped facilitate against Indigenous people during the Allotment and Assimilation Era (1898-1934).
June 3, 2025
Dear Mayor Nichols,
The establishment of the $105 million reparations fund for the Tulsa Race Massacre is a monumental step toward justice. It's a recognition of the unhealed wounds inflicted upon the Black community in Tulsa. We congratulate you on setting a precedent for what is possible when political will aligns with moral righteousness.
As we celebrate this progress, we must also turn our attention to the Indigenous families who suffered similar fates. The corrupt sales, fraudulent guardianships, fatal abuse and neglect, and theft of mineral-rich lands from Native families in Tulsa have long been overlooked. It's time to acknowledge these injustices and work toward reparations for all affected communities.
WEATHER ACROSS AMERICA
(NATIONAL) A flash flood threat remains over parts of the Mid-Atlantic, the Central and Southern Plains into Missouri and Arkansas and the Corn Belt, severe thunderstorms remain possible over parts of the Northern and Central Plains and Midwest, and significant heat remains an issue for portions of the southern Rockies and Desert.
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