Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
On July 11th, 2022, the White House Council on Native American Affairs (WHCNAA) issued a Dear Tribal Leader Letter (DTLL) that invites Tribal Nations to meet with WHCNAA leadership on July 18, 2022, 2:00pm – 3:30pm EST for a Host Tribal Homelands Engagement Session.
The Tribal leader engagement session will focus on the Nov. 15, 2021, Joint Secretarial Order 3403 between USDA and DOI on Fulfilling the Trust Responsibility to Indian Tribes in the Stewardship of Federal Lands and Waters, the 2021 Tribal Treaty Rights MOU, the 2021 Sacred Sites MOU, and other land-related initiatives such as the fee to trust regulations at 25 C.F.R. Part 151, Tribal relocation efforts, and Indigenous Knowledge. The Committee leadership will provide the status of implementation for these policy documents and discuss how Tribal leaders play a role in the policies’ execution.
During the July 18, 2022, session, Tribal leaders will be asked to share their guidance, recommendations, and perspectives on the WHCNAA Committee’s workstream and progress. The engagement will also provide a valuable opportunity for federal agencies to share information about existing resources, future Tribal consultations, and initiatives being planned over the coming months. In preparation for this discussion, we enclose our recent comments on Part 151 regulations, as well as those on guidance for federal agencies on integrating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
The agenda with the registration link, framing questions for the session, a copy of Joint Secretarial Order 3403, 2021 Tribal Treaty Rights MOU, and a copy of the 2021 Sacred Sites MOU are linked above. Materials will also be available on the WHCNAA website. Please submit any written responses to the framing questions to whcnaa@bia.gov no later than August 11, 2022.
For more information, please contact Liz Malerba, USET SPF Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, at lmalerba@usetinc.org.
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