Recognize Nation Sovereignty and Collaborate with Tribal Communities
Background
All governments, including state governments, should engage in nation-to-nation consultation with tribal governments and communities on policy, projects, and rulemaking in a manner that acknowledges tribal sovereignty, honors treaties, and respects cultural practices, heritages, and prior claims to natural resources and land.
While the U.S. federal government conducts much of the relationship with tribal nations, states also have an important role in working with nations that lie within their borders, including supporting tribal food and land sovereignty and restoration of Indigenous hunting rights. States also play a critical role in recognizing and supporting tribal nations that are not federally recognized so that these tribes can access critical services. The U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services all have the statutory and regulatory authority to provide funding for state-recognized tribes.
For millennia, Indigenous communities have practiced what we now call regenerative agriculture, alongside traditional hunting and fishing practices.[1] Preservation of these practices were enshrined in many treaties between tribes and the U.S. government. Inherent to many of the 370 treaties ratified between tribal nations and the federal government between 1778 – 1871 was the “federal trust responsibility,” an agreement that the federal government would protect tribal lands and self-government while providing needed support services such as health, education, and agriculture, to ensure tribal success.[2] Over centuries, the U.S. federal government has repeatedly broken these agreements, often through violence, and continues to do so today. Programs and services in Indian country are chronicly underfunded,[3] contributing to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons,[4] and loss of cultural heritage, language, and knowledge. However, Native communities are resilient. Decades of tribal organizing have led to significant wins in recent years, including on preservation or reintroduction of traditional foodways. State legislators can collaborate with tribes to support these efforts through policy, regulation, and the budget process. As one example, after an industrial aquaculture fishnet in the Puget Sound failed in 2017, releasing tens of thousands of non-native salmon, the Lummi Nation hand-picked the invasive fish from the waters of their traditional fishing grounds.[5] Subsequent tribal organizing led Washington State to ban open-net finfish industrial aquaculture in state waters in 2022. In 2024, after years of activism by the Klamath Tribe in the Northwestern U.S., the largest dam removal in U.S. history was completed in the Klamath Basin, with regulatory and fiscal support from state agencies including the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. In situations where policy is not a viable solution, agency collaboration can be a valuable tool. Just months after the removal, salmon were spotted in the basin for the first time in over a century. Another important role for states is expediting federal funding, which must pass through states before reaching Indian County. Recent large-scale federal investments such as the American Rescue Plan directed billions of dollars into tribal communities.[6] A clear understanding of the process at the state level and a strong relationship between state and tribal nations can move funding to tribes more quickly, increasing Native sovereignty and self-determination. [1] Montalvo, Melissa. “Indigenous Food Sovereignty Movements Are Taking Back Ancestral Land.” Civil Eats, 7 Apr. 2021, https://civileats.com/2021/03/31/indigenous-food-sovereignty-movements-are-taking-back-ancestral-land/. [2] National Congress of American Indians. 2020, Tribal Nations and the United States: An Introduction, https://archive.ncai.org/tribalnations/introduction/Indian_Country_101_Updated_February_2019.pdf. [3] U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. 2003, A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country, https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/na0703/na0204.pdf. [4] Bureau of Indian Affairs. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Crisis.” Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Crisis | Indian Affairs, www.bia.gov/service/mmu/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-people-crisis. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024. [5] Whitcomb, Theo. “Jury Awards Damages to Lummi Nation for 2017 Fish Spill.” High Country News, 24 Jan. 2024, www.hcn.org/articles/latest-jury-awards-damages-to-lummi-nation-for-2017-fish-spill/. [6] Walker, Mark, and Emily Cochrane. “Tribal Communities Set to Receive Big New Infusion of Aid.” The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/us/politics/tribal-communities-stimulus-coronavirus.html.
Policy Priorities
- Federal: Enact reforms to treat tribal governments with equality and fairness. Provide funding for tribal members to obtain easier access to federal programs and increase available resources for tribal infrastructure and economic development, consistent with the federal trust and treaty responsibility.
- State: Include tribal communities in state resource-based decision-making.
- State: Ensure tribal access to traditional hunting and gathering. Support tribal nation food sovereignty by removing fee barriers to hunting and fishing licenses and fee-use lands for traditional hunting and fishing activities.
- State: Provide state-level recognition to tribal nations that are not federally recognized.
- State: Support tribal communities in accessing federal funds and resources.
State Examples
- For additional ideas, the National Conference of State Legislatures maintains a searchable database of state bills that may affect tribal communities.
- Hawaii (2021 HI SB 1410) legislators have introduced efforts to secure rights of Native Hawaiians to engage in customary and traditional subsistence farming, including a bill (2021 HI SB 1319) requiring the state to re-establish loko i‘a, the traditional Native Hawaiian fishponds. Hawaii lawmakers also introduced a resolution (2021 HI SCR 221) to urge the city of Honolulu to streamline the permit process for fishpond restoration and passed a resolution (2021 HI SR 185) to include Native participation in coastal planning and management of ecologically fragile coastline habitat using traditional practices.
- Washington (2021 WA HB 1117 and HB 1172) embedded food sovereignty into policy on salmon management and recovery and reinforced recognition of traditional hunting and treaty rights for salmon and steelhead.
- New Mexico (2021 NM HB 78) introduced a policy to develop traditional hunting and land use management plans for public lands with Indigenous peoples.
- States including Montana (2021 MT HB 241), Mississippi (2021 MS HB 867), and Virginia (2020 VA HB 1282) have attempted to support tribal food sovereignty by removing fee barriers to hunting and fishing licenses and fee-use lands for traditional hunting and fishing activities.
- Maine (2021 ME LD 1626) legislators considered a bill to restore tribal self-government to Maine tribes. The legislation, based on recommendations from a bipartisan legislature task force, addressed long-standing issues with a 1980 land claims act that governs state and tribal relationships.
- Alaska (2021 AK HB 123) lawmakers passed a law to provide state recognition of federally recognized tribes.
- Texas (2019 TX HCR 171) and Virginia (2021 VA HJR 572, introduced) have recognized non-federally recognized tribes, allowing them to engage in state-based decision-making processes on land management and natural resource policy. Rhode Island (2023 RI HB 5020) worked on a bill establishing petition criteria to grant state recognition of tribes.
- Michigan (2022 MI SB 876) considered a bipartisan bill to strongly encourage Michigan schools to teach about the state’s history of Indian boarding schools.
Toolkits
Inspired? Ready to dig in on these issues with your rural neighbors? Our practical communications toolkits will help you connect with new communities through common values. The toolkits provide examples on narrative framing, press release templates, sample talking points, and more.
Click here for the communications toolkit on Growing Equitable Food Systems.