GAO-25-107674 Barriers to Tribal Access
Tribal Issues: Barriers to Access to Federal Assistance
GAO-25-107674, December 2024
Tribal applicants experience systemic barriers to access federal programs, funding, and services. For
example, federal cost-share requirements can create obstacles for Tribes with limited financial resources
to match funds. GAO has made recommendations to several agencies to help alleviate these barriers.
The Big Picture
The Office of Management and Budget annually
reports the amount of federal funding by fiscal year
that benefits or relates to American Indians and
Alaska Natives (AI/AN). We have found that when
Tribes compete with others for funding, they may
receive a small portion of the total amount. We and
others have previously found that limited access to
federal funds and services contribute to long-
standing disparities between AI/AN individuals and
other Americans.
For decades, we have identified challenges Tribes
face in navigating federal programs and accessing
federal funding. Although agencies have made
progress in some areas by addressing our
recommendations, systemic barriers remain across a
variety of federal efforts. Additionally, in 2023,
Executive Order 14112 recognized the undue burden
placed on Tribes when accessing federal funds. The
Executive Order directed agencies to proactively and
systematically identify and address these burdens,
including their root causes, where possible. It also
acknowledged that such actions would be consistent
with the federal government’s commitment to fulfilling
its trust responsibility. This Snapshot summarizes our
recent findings about barriers to access and ways
some agencies have addressed them, often in
response to our recommendations.
What GAO’s Work Shows
We identified the following challenges Tribes may
face when accessing federal agencies’ programs and
services: capacity limitations, financial constraints,
limited agency communication, and remoteness of
Tribes and federal agencies’ limited awareness of
tribal traditions and cultures. These obstacles in
combination with common program characteristics
can create additional barriers for Tribes seeking
federal assistance.
Managing administrative burdens such as application
and reporting requirements can strain Tribes’ staffing
capacity. For instance, Tribes may not have program
staff or may require additional technical assistance.
We also found that
Tribes can experience challenges navigating
applications for multiple federal programs;
and
smaller Tribes can have limited capacity such
as fewer staff to fill out program applications,
especially for competitive grants, which has
limited their access to federal assistance.
To address this barrier, some agencies have
provided financial assistance to help Tribes
build capacity to the extent allowed by law;
and
minimized administrative burdens by
streamlining applications; adopting
compatible templates, policies, and
procedures across agencies; and using self-
determination contracts, self-governance
compacts, or other flexible program delivery
mechanisms, whenever possible.
Financial constraints may hinder access to federal
programs. For example, tribal governments generally
