WASHINGTON D.C. We weathered some storms this past month, both metaphorically and literally. As the clouds break and spring sprouts around us, we hope you and your family are prepared to welcome the land reawakening.
The news headlines have been frequent and turbulent, but the Tribal Council can share that progress was made in D.C. when President Trump signed into law a continuing resolution which funds the federal government through the end of Fiscal Year 2025. Although the funding path Congress chose keeps funding levels the same as the 2024 Fiscal Year, it prevented a government shutdown.
The budget for Indian Country is largely the same as the previous fiscal year, and we were pleased to see the Indian Health Service maintained Advance Appropriations and a continuity of service for our tribal members and community. Congress will now turn its attention to funding Fiscal Year 2026 before current funding expires in September 2025. Muckleshoot Tribal Council will continue advocating for the Muckleshoot Tribe’s sovereign priorities in this process.
Another key issue in Washington, D.C. is this administration’s work with Indian Country. In an effort to reform the federal government, President Trump issued a sweeping executive order eliminating nearly 20 previous executive orders covering a variety of disciplines.
One of the executive orders caught in the crossfire was Executive Order 14112 which aimed to reform federal funding and support for tribal nations to better embrace the federal trust responsibility and promote the next era of tribal self-determination.
The now-rescinded executive order was a large effort built by previous administrations and tribal nations and the Tribal Council is disappointed to see its recission. However, we are working with Members of Congress to urge the administration to continue engaging with tribal nations with or without the executive order. We continually communicate that these actions do not rescind the legal treaty and trust obligations or diminish our government-to-government relationship.
Tribal Council is actively engaged on the recent actions from D.C. and will continue asserting our treaty rights and trust obligations with our federal partners to ensure that Muckleshoot’s voice is heard.
We wish you all a happy and safe spring season.
Meet April Brown-Marter, Ashleigh Kilgore, and Jeffrey A. Plancich, MA, LMHC ─ three new employees at the Muckleshoot MindCare Clinic and Behavioral Health Program.
After many long months – even years – of preliminaries, the2023 Canoe Journey To Muckleshoot: Honoring Our Warriors began in earnest when an estimated 250-300 visitors filled a casino banquet room to capacity on Saturday, January 21, 2023.
The prestigious Muckleshoot Gold Cup Indian Relay Race Championships have been confirmed for Father’s Day Weekend, June 16-18. There are several relay race championships in the West, but none is farther west than this one!
After four consecutive elections where all three incumbents were sent back for another term, the Muckleshoot Tribal Council now has a new member. He is Leeroy Courville Jr.,who is proudly following in the footsteps his late father.
The Muckleshoot Messenger is a Tribal publication created by the Muckleshoot Office of Media Services. Tribal community members and Tribal employees are welcome to submit items to the newspaper such as news, calendar items, photos, poems, and artwork.