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.”