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VOA English Service
January 11, 2019 4:26 PM
Cecily Hilleary
WASHINGTON -
Native Americans, like other Americans, are deeply divided over the proposed border wall which President Donald Trump says will stop the flow of drugs and criminals across the border with Mexico. They also have mixed responses to the partial U.S. government shutdown, which began Dec. 22.
Federally-recognized tribes depend on federal dollars for food and housing aid, health care, public safety and other services. The shutdown has cut off that funding, forcing tribal administrative offices to close or lay off staff. The National Congress of American Indians said (http://www.ncai.org/Native_Orgs_letter_to_White_House_to_re-open_gov.pdf) the lapse is a violation of U.S. treaty and trust responsibilities to tribal nations.
Feeling the pinch
"Politics aside, there are a lot of families that reside on this reservation who depend on that [federal] income to provide for their families," said Stephanie Brady Fisher, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe in Montana. "Who cares about a wall?"
Other tribes appear to be weathering the shutdown. In a January 9 letter (http://https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/50085473_2304403392916983_3434630564303339520_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&oh=11d9f9563701abadc0afb2bb20dcf69a&oe=5CC849AF) to tribal staff, Fort Peck tribal chairman Floyd Azure said the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes on the Fort Peck Reservation have enough funds to last through the shutdown.
'Long overdue' or 'archaic thinking'
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