🔥 No Joke: Trump's Eve of April Fools' Attack on Libraries and Native American Recognition

The Trump administration’s sudden decision disrupts vital cultural resources and removes important symbols of Native American service.

Apr 01, 2025

😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾

In a striking move just before April Fools' Day 🎭, the Trump administration placed all staff from the Institute of Museum and Library Services 📚 on leave, which threatens libraries that tell the stories of Native Americans 🌽. This action was coupled with the removal of flags representing Native nations 🇺🇸 at a VA Hospital in Arizona. These flags honor Indigenous veterans 🎖️, many of whom have served at higher rates than other groups. This troubling pattern shows a concerted effort to erase the contributions and sacrifices of Indigenous peoples in the narrative of American history 📖.

🗝️ Takeaways

🔥 Budget Cuts: The Trump administration placed the entire Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) staff on administrative leave, disrupting critical funding for libraries and Indigenous services.
📉 Erasure of History: This comes alongside the removal of tribal flags representing Native nations in Arizona from a VA Hospital, diminishing acknowledgment of Indigenous military service.
🇺🇸 Twisted Patriotism: The focus on “patriotism” is being used to justify cuts that undermine those who have served the country at higher rates than others.
🛑 Impact on Communities: Rural libraries, often the only access point to resources for Indigenous communities, will face severe challenges due to funding cuts.
⚠️ Urgent Action Needed: Immediate mobilization from the public is critical to restore recognition and funding for Indigenous history and military contributions.

Give a gift subscription

⚡️ Shocking Cuts: A Near-Fatal Blow to Libraries and Indigenous Recognition

The micro-fraction of the federal budget allocated to IMLS—just 0.0046%—was apparently too much for an administration that has no problem finding billions for border walls and tax cuts for billionaires.

A fighter jet costs more than the entire IMLS budget, but apparently, books and museums are where we need to cut costs.

The Eve of Fools Brings Real Tragedy

¡Qué manera de terminar marzo!

Yesterday, on March 31st—the eve of April Fools' Day—the Trump administration delivered what might be the cruelest blow yet to knowledge institutions and Indigenous recognition: it placed the entire staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) on administrative leave.

This comes alongside another devastating erasure—the removal of all 22 flags representing Native nations in Arizona from the Phoenix VA Hospital walls. Despite their timing just before a day reserved for jokes, these actions are no prank. This is deadly serious.

Yesterday, all 70 employees of the IMLS were instructed to return government property and had their email accounts deactivated following a meeting with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials. The timing feels like a twisted prelude to April Fools': "Happy April Fools' Day! You're all fired!" But while the president might be increasing the number of fools this season, the consequences for our communities—especially Indigenous communities—are no laughing matter.

Ironía amarga—bitter irony—is what we're witnessing as Keith Sonderling, the new acting director appointed by Trump, declares the agency will now focus on "patriotism" and "American exceptionalism."

Nothing says "exceptional patriotism" quite like gutting the only federal agency dedicated to supporting libraries and museums nationwide while simultaneously removing symbols honoring Native Americans who have served this country at higher rates than any other demographic group.

And let's talk about this twisted definition of "patriotism" for a moment. The man directing this erasure of Indigenous military contributions—President Trump—secured five deferments to avoid military service during Vietnam, including a convenient "bone spurs" diagnosis.

¿Y ahora él define el patriotismo? Now he defines patriotism? The same man who never wore a uniform is removing flags honoring nations whose members have consistently answered the call to service across generations. The same man who found a doctor to write him an excuse is erasing the stories of Navajo Code Talkers who volunteered to use their language to save American lives. The audacity is breathtaking.

A Pattern of Erasure: From Libraries to VA Hospitals

Trump's March 14 Executive Order targeting the IMLS and six other federal agencies set this in motion. But few expected such swift and complete action, and fewer still could have predicted the simultaneous attack on Indigenous recognition across multiple fronts.

The news that the Phoenix VA Hospital has removed all 22 flags representing Native nations in Arizona is particularly devastating. These flags honored the tribes that have consistently sent their members to serve in the U.S. military at rates far exceeding other demographic groups. The Navajo Nation alone has the highest per-capita enlistment rate of any ethnic group in America. These flags were more than decoration—they were acknowledgment of sacrifice and service from communities that have given disproportionately to a country that continues to erase them.

This follows the earlier erasure of Navajo Code Talkers from military websites, where at least ten articles about these Indigenous heroes were systematically removed, with URLs now ending with "DEI"—making it obvious they were scrubbed as part of Trump's executive order ending federal diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

¿En serio? The Navajo Code Talkers—whose language created the only unbreakable code of World War II and helped secure America's victory in the Pacific—are now classified as "divisive" DEI content? And now the flags honoring their nations' ongoing contributions to the military are being removed from VA walls?

The symbolism couldn't be clearer: those in power see Indigenous sacrifice, knowledge, and stories as expendable footnotes to their version of "American exceptionalism."

Libraries and Flags: Connected Threads of Erasure

The $266 million in annual IMLS grants that keep many libraries functioning will now be disrupted with staff unable to process 2025 applications. This impacts not just general library services but specifically threatens Native American library services, which are essential repositories of Indigenous history and knowledge, including the very military contributions being erased from VA hospitals and military websites.

There's a throughline here that cannot be ignored: from removing flags at the Phoenix VA that honor tribes with the highest military service rates nationwide, to scrubbing Navajo Code Talker histories from military websites, to cutting funding for the libraries that might preserve these stories locally. This is a coordinated assault on Indigenous visibility and recognition.

Small and rural libraries—many on or near reservations—will be hit hardest by the IMLS cuts. ¿Quién es el verdadero patriota aquí? Who are the real patriots here? The Native Americans who have served at rates exceeding all other groups, or the administration led by a man with five military deferments, removing their flags and histories while claiming to champion "patriotism"?

The contrast is stark and telling: Indigenous men and women who leave their reservations to serve a country that has broken nearly every treaty with their nations versus a commander-in-chief whose "bone spurs" kept him safe at home while others fought and died in Vietnam. Yet now he presumes to decide whose service is worthy of recognition and remembrance.

Who's Really Being Honored? Not These Communities

The consequences for Indigenous communities across America are particularly severe:

Veterans from the 22 Arizona tribal nations who visit the Phoenix VA Hospital will no longer see their flags and symbols of recognition
Rural reservation libraries—often the only internet access points in their communities—will lose critical funding
Native American library services, chronically underfunded but essential for preserving Indigenous knowledge, including military contributions, will struggle to survive
The stories of the Navajo Code Talkers, Hopi "high climbers" who scaled radio towers under fire, Akimel O'odham combat engineers, and other Indigenous military heroes will have fewer and fewer platforms for preservation

With the new directive to focus on "patriotism" and "American exceptionalism," we can expect that culturally diverse library collections and programs serving Indigenous communities will be the first to go. Nothing says "patriotism" quite like erasing the histories of those who've served this country at rates higher than any other group, ¿verdad?

Let's be crystal clear about the hypocrisy: a man who received five deferments to avoid serving in Vietnam—including that infamous "bone spurs" diagnosis that magically disappeared after the draft ended—now leads an administration defining what constitutes patriotic content in our libraries and who deserves recognition on VA Hospital walls. A man who chose not to serve when his time came is now erasing the recognition of communities that have always answered the call to service, even when that service was to a country that had taken their land and attempted to eradicate their cultures.

These actions send a clear message: despite Native Americans serving in the U.S. military at rates 5 times the national average—a fact that appeared in Trump's own 2018 proclamation before it too was removed—their contributions are deemed unworthy of recognition or remembrance.

Digital and Physical Colonization: The New Frontier

The pattern is unmistakable: whether through removing flags from VA hospitals, defunding libraries, or scrubbing websites, Indigenous presence, knowledge, history, and contributions are being systematically removed from public spaces and public access. This is colonization in the digital and institutional age, disguised as fiscal responsibility and "patriotism."

Think about what it means when physical symbols like flags and digital resources are targeted simultaneously while the institutions that might help preserve these histories lose funding. This creates a multi-layered erasure—removing the symbols, the digital content, and the institutions that might help document and share these contributions.

The attack on Native American Library Services alongside the removal of tribal flags is particularly devastating. These paired actions aren't just about books or flags—they're about cultural preservation, historical recognition, and maintaining connections to knowledge systems that have survived centuries of attempted erasure.

When a young Native American veteran cannot see their nation's flag at the VA hospital where they receive care, when they cannot access stories about how their language or their tribe's members served this country, the cycle of erasure continues.

No Fooling: Here's What We Must Do NOW

With IMLS staff now on administrative leave and tribal flags removed from the Phoenix VA as of yesterday, our response must be immediate and forceful. Here's how you can fight back:

Demand the restoration of tribal flags at the Phoenix VA Hospital and all VA facilities. Call the VA Secretary's office and your representatives to insist these symbols of service and sacrifice be immediately restored.
Call your representatives TODAY. Find your Senators here and your Representative here. Tell them you demand emergency action to restore IMLS staffing and operations AND the restoration of tribal flags and Indigenous military history to federal institutions.
Sign and share the updated petition at EveryLibrary to protest the administrative leave of IMLS staff. Make it go viral in every community, every language, every platform.
Contact local media about both the IMLS staff removal and the taking down of tribal flags at the Phoenix VA. Journalists need concrete stories about real impacts—give them specifics about what these actions mean for recognition of Indigenous service and sacrifice.
Support library workers and Indigenous veterans' organizations who are fighting against these erasures. Many tribal veterans' groups have been vocal about the need to maintain recognition of Indigenous military service.
Document and preserve digital content related to Indigenous military histories, especially about the Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans. With the new focus on "American exceptionalism," this content is at even greater risk of erasure.
Support Indigenous media outlets and knowledge keepers who are documenting military contributions outside of government platforms. Publications, community radio stations, and digital archives run by and for Indigenous communities need your attention and resources now more than ever.
Organize community events honoring Indigenous veterans and their contributions while highlighting the attacks on their recognition through library defunding and flag removal.

Hope Beyond Erasure

Even in this moment of coordinated erasure, with IMLS staff sent home, their emails deactivated, and tribal flags removed from VA walls, I find hope in our collective power to respond. History teaches us that every attempt to control knowledge and symbols eventually failed. Flags removed spark new symbols of recognition. Stories suppressed become stories told in new ways. Libraries defunded spark community-led alternatives.

The appointment of an acting director focused on "patriotism" while removing recognition of the most patriotic demographic in America—by measure of military service—tells us exactly what's at stake: this isn't about patriotism at all, but about who gets to define it and whose service counts in the narrative of America.

Our ancestors didn't survive centuries of attempts to erase their languages, symbols, and traditions only for us to surrender without a fight. From the Indigenous soldiers who used their Native languages as unbreakable codes in two World Wars to the tribal veterans who fought to have their flags displayed in VA hospitals in the first place, our communities have always insisted on recognition despite official erasure.

What gives me hope today is seeing the immediate mobilization across traditional divides: veterans groups and library advocates joining forces, urban and rural communities supporting each other, elders and youth working together to document Indigenous military contributions outside institutional walls.

Nuestra lucha for recognition of Indigenous service and sacrifice is inseparable from our struggle for Indigenous sovereignty, for environmental justice, for language preservation. They are all battles against the same systems of power that seek to extract, exploit, and exclude.

The administration may have removed staff from IMLS and flags from VA walls, but they cannot remove our determination to preserve knowledge, to honor sacrifice, and to build alternatives when institutional doors close. When we say resistencia, we mean not just opposition but creation—the creation of new ways to honor and remember when official channels are blocked.

The path ahead is difficult, but clear: we must become the libraries, the museums, the VA hospitals we need when the government abandons its responsibility to honor all who served. We must become the archivists, the storytellers, the preservers of history that power wishes to erase.

Join the Conversation

I want to hear from you. How are these erasures—from library funding cuts to the removal of tribal flags—impacting your specific community? What creative strategies are you developing to preserve recognition of Indigenous contributions?