Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
Since July, the Indian Health Service (IHS) has been conducting consultation and review of the agency's Tribal Consultation Policy (TCP). The IHS Director's Workgroup on Tribal Consultation has worked to review and update the policy, as well as review and incorporate comments received during Tribal consultation. In their efforts to update the IHS TCP and align it with the newly-finalized Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) TCP, the Workgroup failed to reach consensus on one issue - the definition of "Indian Tribe" to be used in the IHS TCP. The Workgroup decided that this issue should receive additional Tribal consultation.
In the Dear Tribal Leader Letter announcing the consultation, the IHS provided two options for the definition of "Indian Tribe." Option 1 is the "List Act" Definition (25 U.S.C. § 5130), which is used in the new HHS TCP and in various Executive Orders. Option 2 is the "Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) Definition." This definition is used in the current IHS TCP, and includes Alaskan Native Corporations (ANCs) as consultation parties.
In previous rounds of consultation, IHS requested input from Tribal Nations on how IHS should engage with Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and whether or not to include ANCs in the updated policy. USET SPF maintains that ANCs, as for-profit corporations, do not enjoy a consultative relationship with the U.S. government. Consultation is a diplomatic tool grounded in the Nation-to-Nation relationship between Tribal Nations (including Alaska Native Tribal Nations and villages) and the U.S. As such, our comments recommend previously that IHS engage with ANCs through a separate confer policy, much like it does with other non-governmental entities like Urban Indian Organizations.
The IHS will hold four consultation sessions on appropriate definition to utilize. They will be held on:
- Tuesday, January 9, 2024, from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., ET
- Thursday, January 11, 2024, from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., ET
- Wednesday, January 17, 2024, from 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., ET
- Thursday, January 18, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., ET
Interested participants may register for any of the four consultation sessions with this link. IHS will also accept written comments at consultation@ihs.gov until February 20, 2024. Following this round of consultation, the IHS TCP will be internally reviewed and then taken through the clearance process.
For more information, please contact Ashton Martin, USET SPF Health Policy Analyst, at usetinc.org.
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