The Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) released a report today examining the impacts of recent federal funding cuts to violence-related programs and services for American Indians and Alaska Natives, including those serving survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP).

Titled “Sacred Responsibility, Protecting Our People,” the report summarizes the results of a nationwide survey of 201 programs and organizations, including Tribes, Tribal organizations, Tribal coalitions, Native nonprofits, and Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs). Respondents answered questions on funding mechanisms, services provided over a 12-month period, unmet service requests, and Tribal law enforcement.

“Tribal leaders and advocates spent decades building support, raising awareness, and passing legislation to protect our people—all it took was the snap of a finger for the money to disappear,” said Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), director of UIHI and co-author of the report. “The United States has a legal responsibility to fund health programs that serve American Indians and Alaska Natives. They are failing to do that, which means we will see a rise in violence against Native peoples.”

Under treaty and trust obligations, the United States is legally required to fund a range of programs for sovereign Tribal Nations, including healthcare. Since early 2025, federal funding cuts across U.S. agencies have disrupted how American Indians and Alaska Natives access these health services and programs, including cuts framed as targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Although some of these funding mechanisms have since been restored following backlash from Tribal leaders, the cuts have created lasting uncertainty. American Indians and Alaska Natives access these programs based on their citizenship in sovereign Tribal Nations—a political status rooted in treaty law—not on racial or ethnic categories the way DEI programs typically are.

Of the 201 survey respondents, 64% reported being substantially impacted by federal funding cuts since January 2025, and 44% reported that services for victims of violence have been or will be cut as a result. 84% of survey respondents reported that federal funding made up more than half of their overall budgets.

“Last year, the Administration claimed it would prioritize Native health, but this report shows that’s just not the case,” said Rose Lashawaat Quilt, Director of Policy with SWIWC, a tribal domestic and sexual violence coalition that serves Arizona Tribes through training, technical assistance, policy advocacy, education, and outreach. “Native survivors have yet to obtain equally accessible, culturally appropriate services and have even less in today’s climate. Despite ongoing policy advocacy efforts, Tribal programs and Tribal Coalitions have yet to be as equitably funded as their state and local counterparts, and the federal cuts deepen a federal failure that continues to cost more Native lives, which is wholly unacceptable and must be remedied.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2023, homicide rates among American Indian and Alaska Native people were nearly five times higher than homicide rates for non-Hispanic White people. The CDC also reports that about 58% of American Indian and Alaska Native women and 51% of American Indian and Alaska Native men experienced intimate partner violence during their lifetimes. Additionally, the CDC found that about 44% of American Indian and Alaska Native women were raped in their lifetime.

UIHI’s report is intended to inform partners and legislators about the impact of federal funding cuts to violence-related services for American Indians and Alaska Natives. The report outlines recommendations that calls on Congress and federal agencies to secure stable, sustainable funding for Tribal public safety and victim services, including legal protections against DEI-related cuts, expanded law enforcement resources, and reauthorization of key legislation like the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA).

The report was released on the same day of a House oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country,” in which Echo-Hawk provided testimony and shared policy recommendations outlined in the report.

“The promise of public safety is intended to be universal, but for Native people, it is a promise that has never been met with resources or reality,” Echo-Hawk claimed in her written testimony for the House oversight hearing. “Tribal Nations have a legal right to public safety resources as a part of the prepaid benefits included in numerous treaties signed with the United States. Tribes have never received the adequate resources they are owed and the impact is evident.”

Click here to learn more about the report.