TURTLE MOUNTAIN RESERVATION, N.D. (KMOT) - While the government could soon reopen, the shutdown has impacted many walks of life, from food access to travel and more.

Tribes have had to develop plans to make sure their members have continued access to funding for food and heating as the temperatures drop.

While the facemasks and social distancing have largely disappeared, the ongoing shutdown is comparable to the COVID-19 era for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

“A lot of our experience that we gained during the pandemic, and applied the same situationalship to this shutdown,” said Jesse Trottier.

Trottier serves as the tribe’s chief financial officer. She said this time around, the tribe drew from their plans during the pandemic and the 2018 shutdown.

“We kind of went across a lo

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