Trump 2.0 is causing mass anxiety throughout “Indian Country” and across Turtle Island so far in 2025. As of mid-June 2025, the Trump Administration’s proposed Fiscal 2026 federal budget calls for nearly $1 billion in cuts to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and other federal Native American programs. In addition, President Trump signed “Birthright Citizenship” Executive Order 14160 on January 20th, 2025, where the Trump Administration believes it could denaturalize Native American U.S. citizenship, especially if the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. CASA, Inc. agrees with the Trump Administration.
But Native America nations have an extra-constitutional relationship with the United States government, and this extra-constitutional relationship is the result of more than 380 signed and ratified treaties between Native American nations and the U.S. government – an approximate similar number of treaties were signed but never ratified. The U.S. government, however, must legally and adhere to its “Trust” responsibilities its treaty obligations.
Enduring questions are guest addresses: Do the Trump Administration’s proposed budget cuts along with the DOGE cuts to federal programs violate the Treaties between Native American nations and the Trust Doctrine? In addition, does President Donald Trump’s Birthright Citizenship executive order place Native Americans in real threat of losing their U.S. citizenship contrary to the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924? Lastly, does the combined actions of the Trump Administration plausibly suggest the possibility of new “Terminations” reminiscent of the 1950s?
Today on American Indian Airwaves, our guest for the hour provides an in-depth description and analysis on the Trump 2.0 Administrations actions within the context of the understanding the legalities and constitutionality of the treaties between the Native American nations and the U.S. federal government. Today’s interview was conducted prior to the four recent SCOTUS and lower court decisions on the Birthright Citizenship executive order.
Guest:
David E. Wilkins, a citizen of the Lumbee Nation, is a political scientist specializing in federal Indian policy and law. He is the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies in the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies and professor emeritus of the University of Minnesota. He studies Indigenous politics, governance, and legal systems, with a particular focus on Native American sovereignty, self-determination, and diplomacy.
Professor Wilkins is the author of numerous books including, but not limited to: Indigenous Governance: Clans, Constitutions, and Consent (2024), Of Living Stone: Perspectives on Continuous Knowledge and the Work of Vine Deloria, Jr. (2024), Documents of Native American Political Development, 1933 to Present (2019), Red Prophet: The Punishing Intellectualism of Vine Deloria, Jr.(2018), Dismembered: Native Disenrollment and the Battle for Human Rights (2017), American Indian Politics and the American Political System, second edition, 2017, Hollow Justice: A History of Indigenous Claims in the United States (2013), The Hank Adams Reader (2011), The Legal Universe: Observations of the Foundations of American Law (2011), Documents of Native American Political Development, 1500 to 1933 (2009), On the Drafting of Tribal Constitutions - Felix S. Cohen (2006), Native Voices: American Indian Identity and Resistance (2003), Uneven Ground: American Indian Sovereignty and Federal Law (2002), and Tribes, Treaties, and Constitutional Tribulations (2000).
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