**Details By Native News Online Staff**
*November 02, 2025*
**WASHINGTON** — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other recent news from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country.
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**Federal Government Partial Shutdown Enters 33rd Day**
Today marks the 33rd day of the federal government partial shutdown. In all probability, this shutdown will become the longest in the country’s history, surpassing the previous record of 35 days set during the first Trump administration.
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**Mother Kuskokwim Statement Condemning Donlin Gold Project’s FAST-41 Designation**
The Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition condemns the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council’s decision to add the Donlin Gold project to the FAST-41 list. This decision disregards widespread opposition from Alaska Natives in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
The tribal coalition emphasizes that this action is especially inappropriate as regional Tribes await federal agencies’ responses to court-identified permitting flaws and continue to recover from the devastation caused by Typhoon Halong.
Fast-tracking the project threatens vital environmental protections and silences the voices of Yukon-Kuskokwim communities that rely on healthy rivers for survival. The Donlin Gold project endangers the Kuskokwim River and the communities sustained by it for millennia. Concerns include potential increases in residents’ utility bills by up to $265 per year, the production of massive cyanide-laden tailings, and the construction of a 316-mile gas pipeline through untouched lands, which could further jeopardize already struggling salmon runs and subsistence resources.
The FAST-41 program was intended to streamline transportation infrastructure projects, not to expedite controversial projects that have failed environmental review. Although project sponsors claim to value community input, their rush to accelerate permitting despite unresolved issues suggests otherwise.
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**Medicare Enrollment Is Open**
Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15, 2025, through December 7, 2025. During this period, beneficiaries can review and make changes to their Medicare coverage for 2026, including switching plans or updating prescription drug coverage.
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**Additional Notes**
– Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, further updates on related healthcare and tribal provisions are forthcoming.
– **D.C. Briefs:** Stay tuned for more updates from the nation’s capital.
– **US Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians:** Oral history project announces its 14th stop in Portland, Oregon—NABS continues to gather crucial stories across Indian Country.
– **Time to Fall Back:** Don’t forget to turn your clocks back for the Sunday time change.
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*Native News Online will continue to provide timely coverage of issues affecting Indian Country.*
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/native-news-weekly-november-2-2025-d-c-briefs
