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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 2025)
KWSO, other tribal and rural stations facing budget cuts The tribes’ KWSO 91.9 FM ra- dio station is among many public radio stations facing budget cuts, resulting from recent reductions in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. For Tribal and rural stations - the funding makes up a significant percentage of their operating budget. The funds had been appropri- ated for 2026 until recent passage of a $1.1 billion rescission, or ‘claw back’ measure by Congress. For KWSO and other stations, the federal funds have helped with programming costs, participating in the Emergency Alert System, staff- ing, and for broadcast equipment. KWSO, owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, may lose 40-percent of its operating budget. “We would continue to exist, but our operations and our offerings would be significantly cut back,” said Sue Matters, station manager. KWSO is the only source of lo- cal and culturally-specific radio pro- gramming on the reservation. “All our content for our programs that we produce locally are local, and specific to Warm Springs and the More federal cuts to tribes A proposed federal freeze on federal grants would cut $24.5 bil- lion in funding to Native commu- nities for health, law enforcement, education and key social services. This is according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Brookings Insti- tution. If the cuts gain approval through the courts, they may vio- late treaty obligations to tribal na- tions, impacting nearly every tribe across the United States. The funding freeze would im- pact Native people both on and off reservations, according to the report. The report found that since 2018, the federal government has obligated funding to more than 1,700 tribal governments, Native nonprofits and Native-owned busi- nesses involving more than 750 programs. The federal government has ob- ligated nearly $93 million in funds since 2018 through grants and co- operative agreements, but Brookings found that $24.5 billion remains unpaid for more than 700 programs. Those funds would be tempo- rarily or permanently inaccessible if the order from the federal Office of Management and Budget, known as OMB, is allowed to go into ef- fect. “Nearly all tribes would be af- fected by a federal grant freeze, with many facing the prospect of losing tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars—funding that is critical for supporting some of the most historically underserved communi- ties in the United States,” the report concludes. “When the federal government withholds funding from tribes and Native American people, it’s not just a policy change. It’s a violation of those commitments—putting essen- tial services at risk and undermin- ing tribal governing capacity.” A federal appeals court will de- cide if the administration has the legal authority to mass-suspend the grants, with arguments set in com- ing months in a lawsuit filed by the state of New York. Warm Springs tribes,” Ms. Matters said. Two of the six staff members at KWSO are funded by the Cor- poration for Public Broadcasting. Matters said “the station’s first pri- ority is to identify money to keep those staff on board. Next prior- ity is for engineering and support for our automation system, our steaming and our website. Native American Calling and National Native News are the primary na- tional programming we would fight to keep.” KWSO also provides the Emer- gency Alert System for the Warm Springs area, informing the com- munity about fire alerts, school and road closures, and snow events. “We definitely play a criti- cal role even in small things,” Mat- ters said. She said what’s most troubling isn’t just the short-term scramble for funding; instead it’s the long- term risk of dismantling an infor- mation system built over decades. “At KWSO we have built up our programming over the years, and now our online work as well, to meet the needs of our com- munity. We have been focused on improving quality and continuing to grow what we offer so now los- ing a significant chunk of fund- ing for our operations is a blow— but it’s one we intend to overcome as best as we can.” She says, “There is a chance to advocate for funding still in the fed- eral budget process in the future. People can contact your members of congress and let them know you support Public Media and funding should be restored.” Congressman Cliff Bentz who represents Oregon’s Second District did vote for the rescission of fund- ing for public media, citing concerns about left leaning bias. Matters stated “clearly he hasn’t listened to KWSO.” KWSO is part of a broader In- digenous public media at risk of losing funding: Programming from Native Voice One—like daily news shows Native America Calling and National Native News—could be canceled or might become unaffordable to smaller stations. Matters says they’ve gotten some cash donations and new sus- taining memberships in the past week that will hopefully be the start of an increase in revenue to help fill the new funding gaps. “We will be relying on our efforts to bring in new business underwriting as well as roll up our sleeves on finding new individual donners. Folks can make a one-time donation or sign up to contribute monthly at our website kwso.org.”
