06/09/2025
President Trump released his Fiscal Year 2026 budget on Monday, June 2, proposing the elimination of funding for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). The IAIA Board of Trustees and administration reject this ill-conceived and extremely harmful proposal. In one budget, Trump is proposing to erase nearly 63 years of progress in American Indian and Alaska Native higher education, artistic expression, and decades of Congressional support for IAIA, the only institution of its kind in the world. As the birthplace of contemporary Native arts, we cannot let this happen.
Trump’s proposal calls for the complete removal of IAIA’s federal funding beginning October 1, 2025, reducing our annual congressional appropriation from $13.482 million to zero. If enacted, this would mark the first time in nearly 40 years that IAIA would not receive federal support under its longstanding Enabling Legislation, Public Law 99-498, Title XV.
We have reached out to the New Mexico Congressional Delegation to join in convincing the Chairs and Ranking (Minority) Members of the House and Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittees and full committees to continue the important work started by Congress in 1987 and fund IAIA at a minimum of $13.482 million in FY 2026. (This would be level funding, as it has been for the past three years.) Our New Mexico Delegation is solidly supportive of IAIA. We could not ask for a stronger congressional delegation than the one we have. We are confident that they will do everything possible to restore IAIA funding in the upcoming fiscal year.
We acknowledge potential future challenges, including ongoing political uncertainty and potential budgetary pressures in the coming fiscal years. With continued support from the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), other Indigenous organizations, and the New Mexico Congressional Delegation, we will closely monitor potential adverse impacts proposed by this administration and proactively work to protect IAIA. The IAIA Board of Trustees, officers, and administration have engaged in numerous meetings with our congressional delegation and other government officials to ensure that our voices and priorities are heard.
In addition to our Congressional Delegation, IAIA has received tremendous support from both the private and public sectors, all of which recognize IAIA’s impact on Indigenous communities and the broader fields of art and scholarship.
Now more than ever, IAIA’s mission and programs have had a profound effect on educating the next generation of Indigenous artists, filmmakers, writers, scholars, museum professionals, performing artists, and leaders.
IAIA alumna heather ahtone, PhD (Choctaw and Chickasaw Nation) ’93, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the First Americans Museum, recently reflected on her transformative experiences at IAIA. She said that “critical skills, faith in my vision, and willingness to take risks were cultivated and rooted in my experiences at IAIA. IAIA exists because so many people believe in the value of Native creatives. It’s a place where students are encouraged to manifest their best ideas, explore their potential, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.”
IAIA is an integral part of the legacy of our ancestors, who sacrificed and signed treaties in which they relinquished precious land in exchange for access to education. This is the reason that IAIA exists. More than 4,000 graduates have taken advantage of the educational opportunities at IAIA, resulting in increased opportunities to share our cultures, histories, and stories through the arts, filmmaking, creative writing, performing arts, scholarship, and leadership.
Going forward, we will remain resilient and focused on our mission to empower creativity and leadership in Indigenous arts and cultures, regardless of the political shifts occurring in Washington, D.C.
We are asking for your help to ensure continued federal support for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). At this critical time, please reach out to members of New Mexico’s Congressional Delegation to express your support for IAIA and emphasize the importance of their leadership.
Senator Martin Heinrich (202) 224-5521: https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/contact/write-martin
Senator Ben Ray Luján (202) 224-6621: https://www.lujan.senate.gov/contact/contact-form/
Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (202) 225-6190: https://fernandez.house.gov/contact/
Representative Melanie Stansbury (202) 225-6316: https://stansbury.house.gov/contact/offices
Representative Gabe Vasquez (575) 323-6390: https://vasquez.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact
Share a brief message of support (feel free to use or adapt the sample message below):
“As a constituent, I deeply value the work of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I was alarmed to learn that President Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposal calls for the elimination of IAIA’s federal funding. If enacted, this would jeopardize the future of a nationally significant institution that serves as the center for contemporary American Indian and Alaska Native arts and cultures, and displace more than 850 students.
I urge you to join the entire New Mexico delegation in leading efforts to maintain IAIA’s funding at $13.482 million in FY 2026. Please contact the leadership of the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees and full Committees to ensure continued support for IAIA in FY 2026 and beyond. Thank you.”
Your voice matters—thank you for helping us protect IAIA’s future.
*We honor heather ahtone and her preference to lowercase her name.
In the face of proposed federal cuts that would eliminate all funding for IAIA, the urgency to support Indigenous arts and education has never been greater. For over 60 years, IAIA has empowered Indigenous creatives to share their stories, preserve their cultures, and shape the future through painting, filmmaking, writing, museum and culture exchanges, and leadership. IAIA is not just a higher education institution—it’s a promise fulfilled to our Ancestors and a lifeline for the next generation. Your gift helps ensure that IAIA’s mission endures, regardless of political shifts.
Give Today: https://give.iaia.edu/campaign/632949/donate
https://iaia.edu/president-trumps-fy-2026-budget-proposes-to-eliminate-funding-for-iaia/
Photograph by Jason S. Ordaz, Institute of American Indian Arts.
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Jason S. Ordaz, Chief Communications Officer, at [email protected] or (505) 424-2348.
