**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 news released from Washington, D.C. that recently impacts Indian Country.
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 states 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 permitting process threatens vital environmental protections and silences Yukon-Kuskokwim communities that depend on healthy rivers for survival.
The Donlin Gold project endangers the Kuskokwim River and the communities sustained by it for millennia. The project could increase residents’ utility bills by up to $265 a year, produce massive cyanide-laden tailings, and require a 316-mile gas pipeline traversing untouched lands—further jeopardizing already struggling salmon runs and subsistence resources.
Originally, FAST-41 was designed to streamline transportation infrastructure projects, not to push through controversial projects that fail environmental review. The Council’s decision, therefore, disregards the strong opposition from Alaska Natives in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
While 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 is now underway and runs from October 15, 2025, through December 7, 2025. During this period, beneficiaries can review and make changes to their Medicare coverage for 2026. This includes switching plans or updating prescription drug coverage.
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### Additional Briefs from Washington, D.C.
– **One Big Beautiful Bill Act:** Updates and implications affecting Indian Country.
– **US Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians:** An oral history project announces its 14th stop in Portland, Oregon, continuing to gather crucial stories from across Indian Country.
– **Time to Fall Back:** Reminder to turn clocks back this Sunday for the time change.
Stay tuned for more updates as these stories develop.
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/native-news-weekly-november-2-2025-d-c-briefs