U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) introduced two bills this week in the House to modernize the Bureau of Indian Education’s Equalization Formula and potentially bring higher teacher salaries, and more federal funding for tribal schools.

Pueblo leaders and environmentalists are angry that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management released an environmental assessment on Wednesday with the intent of eliminating a buffer around Chaco Culture National Historical Park that has prevented oil and gas leasing. BLM is offering just two weeks for public comment on the report.

The National Trust of Historic Preservation has placed the Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape on this year’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The nomination came from the All Pueblo Council of Governors, which supports the preservation and cultural significance of the landscape in the face of increasing threats.

Earlier this month, the Department of the Interior submitted court documents outlining its plans to lay off just over 2,000 employees nation-wide amid the ongoing government shutdown. While these firings have been put on hold, for now, they could strip New Mexico of already scarce wildfire research resources.

Last month, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced it had partnered with the Department of the Interior to cut $14 million worth of environmental grants, including $2.5 million for New Mexico.

President Trump’s Department of the Interior wants to rescind the "Public Lands Rule" – saying it stands in the way of “legitimate” uses of land, including mining, grazing, energy development, and recreation.

Buffalos have long played a significant role for many Native American tribes. They have provided clothing, food, shelter and much more. This week, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., introduced bipartisan legislation to create a permanent buffalo program that would help tribes manage current and future herds.

For generations, Native American tribes have fought for the return of their lands lost to the United States. In a historic move on Wednesday, the Pueblo of Santa Ana and Bureau of Indian Affairs signed an agreement allowing the federal government to take the former King Alamo Ranch into trust for the tribe.

Among Native American communities, people go missing and experience violence at disproportionately high rates. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) - the first Native cabinet secretary - has been working to implement the Not Invisible Act, which she helped pass as a Congresswoman in 2019. A commission traveled round the country hearing testimony from survivors, advocates, law enforcement and tribal leaders. It released a list of recommendations last November, and now the Departments of Justice and Interior have responded.

Four National Wildlife Refuges across the country now have support from the federal government to expand, and Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, which spans across the Texas-New Mexico border, is one of them.