Many tribal leaders said they feared that the Trump administration would use the shutdown to lay off federal workers responsible for ensuring that trust and treaty responsibilities are honored. The U.S. agreed many decades ago to protect the security, health and education of tribal citizens in return for ceding their lands. It said the closures would be temporary but that more closures could still come if the shutdown endures. People across Indian Country worried that the Trump administration would use the shutdown to lay off federal workers who uphold their treaty rights. Damaged trustThe Indian Health Service, a department within Health and Human Services, provides health care to Native Americans and Alaska Natives and will remain funded and operational, HHS contingency plan says.