Message fron Chairman Gonzalez: Our Time Has Come. What Self-Governance Means for the Caddo Nation
- Chairman Bobby Gonzalez
- Jul 8
- 4 min read
July 7, 2022
On July 1, 2025, the Caddo Nation achieved something that seemed impossible just five years ago. We became the 22nd tribe in Oklahoma—and one of only 140 tribes out of 574 Federally Recognized Tribes nationwide—to achieve federal self-governance status. We are reclaiming something that was taken from us over two centuries ago: the right to make decisions about our own people, our own future, our own survival. What does this mean for you, your family and our children’s future?
What Self-Governance Means for You
As a tribal leader, I am accountable to future generations, not just current voters.
We are living through a federal funding crisis for tribes. $1 billion in cuts already. That’s an existential threat for tribes, but even more of a threat for tribes who have not achieved self-governance. We are living through a historic shift in federal Indian policy. The recently passed "One Big Beautiful Bill" is reshaping how federal agencies operate and fund programs. Our new self-governance designation couldn’t have happened at a better time. Having self-governance status means your Leadership will navigate these changes from a position of strength rather than dependency.
Our new self-governance status requires leadership to immediately navigate hardship while protecting the foundation we’ve built for future prosperity and negotiating with a multitude of federal agencies for funding opportunities that can grow our tribe to its full capacity to meet the needs of tribal members. It opens doors to negotiate with multiple federal agencies, not just BIA and IHS.
The Nation can now design programs for Caddo people and adapt federal services to our specific needs. Who better to make decisions regarding healthcare, social services, housing, language, culture, education, crisis response and economic hardship than the Caddo Nation? Only we know our families, our history, our cultural and community needs. Now our Nation can create these kinds of programs, tailored to our specific needs as Caddo people. Housing, expanded education programs, expanded language and cultural preservation, economic development without federal roadblocks—these are some examples of priorities that we can begin to negotiate funding for with the federal government. We have a great team in place who work with our tribal members every day and understand the gaps in services and community needs that aren’t met by current federal funding. Our Directors have passion and vision for expanding programs.
Achieving self-governance is one thing. Using it effectively is another. The difference between success and failure in this new era comes down to having leadership that can effectively and immediately navigate complex relationships with federal agency directors, in addition to local BIA agents to represent all Caddo people and our specific needs.
Complex Funding Negotiations & Multi-Agency Coordination
Instead of simply receiving federal funding, we are now negotiating the terms of how programs operate and how funds are used. The next step is a period of critical negotiations with the federal government by the Caddo Nation Chairman. This requires an understanding of federal law, how to locate funding sources, and how to navigate and maintain complex relationships in a positive way to address tribal needs.
Self-governance opens doors beyond just the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service. Our Nation can now potentially contract with the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and others for programs of special geographic, historical, or cultural significance to us. This requires a leader who can see opportunities others might miss. Most importantly, this requires leadership with strategic vision and that can see beyond immediate needs to long-term prosperity.
What This Means for Our Children
Self-governance is more than administrative efficiency. It’s directly related to cultural survival and prosperity. Our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will grow up in a Nation that controls its own destiny, that can respond quickly to opportunities and challenges, that can preserve our traditions while building economic strength. They will inherit institutions and programs designed and built by the Caddo Nation, and a sovereign nation that truly governs itself.
The Work Ahead
Achieving self-governance is the beginning. It is a process to transition. The immediate next phase requires us to build internal capacity to manage more complex programs and to develop and strengthen complex partnerships with federal agencies. We will be working to strengthen economic development strategies that leverage our new autonomy, expand our language, education and cultural preservation programs with direct control over funding and plan for long-term sustainability and growth.
Our recently appointed Constitution Committee will be working simultaneously to listen to community voices regarding contemporary needs of a modern Caddo Nation that are not reflected in our current constitution. Self-Governance and a modernized constitution will work hand in hand to maximize our success in achieving long-term cultural and economic prosperity for our Nation. This work requires continued strong leadership, community support, and the same vision that got us here.
A Message to Membership
We have achieved something our ancestors could have only dreamed of; true self-determination backed by federal recognition and funding. Self-governance gives us the tools, but we must use them wisely. It gives us control, but we must exercise it responsibly. It gives us opportunity, but we must seize it with precision and skill. This achievement belongs to all of us.
The decisions about Caddo people and our future are now made by the Caddo Nation. What we do with this gift will determine whether our children, our grand-children and great-grandchildren thank us or whether they wonder why we didn't do more when we had the chance.
The choice is ours. The time is now. Our new day has begun.
Respecfully,
Bobby Gonzalez
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