COVID-19 in Indian Country
U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin issued a statement on the success of the Paycheck Protection Program.

Indian Country is still waiting on an $8 billion coronavirus relief fund promised by the U.S. government to help tribes through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plaintiffs in Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Mnuchin have filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and emergency writ of mandamus.

There are some last-minute developments in federal court as tribes await the release of an $8 billion coronavirus relief fund promised to their governments.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer extend their appreciation to all of the Congressional members who have called on on the Department of the Treasury to immediately release $8 billion in CARES Act funding to tribes.

Senator Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, requested official reviews into the Trump administration’s handling of COVID-19 relief funding for Tribes.

The Great Plains Region is one of 12 Bureau of Indian Affairs Regions in the United States, encompassing nearly 25 percent of all Indian land owned by federally recognized tribes.

The federal judge assigned to the CARES Act lawsuit ordered the parties to submit a status report by May 1, 2020, following a landmark ruling affecting $8 billion in coronavirus relief promised to tribal governments.

A federal judge's decision is a win for federally recognized tribal governments and clarifies that Alaska Native corporations are not tribal governments.

'The Coronavirus Relief Fund we passed in the CARES Act is meant to ensure Tribal and Alaska Native governments have the resources they need to continue government services and save the lives of those in their community,' Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) said.

'Federally recognized tribal governments, across the United States including in Alaska, work daily to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr said in connection with an $8 billion coronavirus relief fund.

'Federally-recognized tribes stood together to oppose the actions of the Department of the Treasury in another attempt to undermine the first citizens of this country, but our voices were heard and Indigenous people prevailed today!' said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.

A federal judge has issued a decision in the closely-watched CARES Act lawsuit, barring the Trump administration from disbursing an $8 billion coronavirus relief fund to for-profit corporations.

The National Congress of American Indians will host a town hall to showcase the stories from the men and women of Congress who tirelessly advocated for historic funding for Indian Country through the Third Congressional COVID-19 Package.

Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) applauded the decision by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to allow the nation’s eleven Federal Home Loan Banks to accept Payment Protection Program loans as collateral.

Many Tribes depend on the businesses they own and operate to fund essential services in Indian Country because Tribal governments, unlike state and local governments, do not have a traditional tax base.

Three Indian nations whose businesses were excluded from the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program filed suit against the Trump administration on April 23, 2020.

The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan program within the CARES Act that allows businesses with fewer than 500 employees to apply for loans to cover payroll and other operational expenses that have been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tribal leaders, tribal governments, businesses and other tribal stakeholders are invited to participate in a teleconference focusing on Round 2 of the Paycheck Protection Program.

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) announced that small tribal gaming enterprises under 500 employees can now apply for financial relief through the Payment Protection Program, a move welcomed by tribal leaders.