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Creating a Robust Tribal Consultation Process
Link: https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/julyaugust2022/index.php#/p/42
As Published in the July/August 2022 Issue of Washington Lawyer. Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 42-3
By Thomas Andrew O’Keefe
The United States of America has a long and sordid history of egregious human rights violations committed against Indigenous peoples that includes physical and cultural genocide as well as forcible removal and usurpation of tribal lands. Even today, many Native American communities find themselves exposed to toxic pollution emanating from energy and mining projects operating on nearby federal property. This contamination jeopardizes water supplies and contributes to inordinately high rates of asthma, cancer, and other serious health maladies among Native Americans.
Recognizing the U.S. government’s frequent failure to adequately and effectively confer with sovereign tribal nations on federal policy matters that affect them, Joe Biden promised during the 2020 presidential campaign to create a robust consultation mechanism that would be consistent across all federal agencies and meaningfully engage tribal nations if he were elected president. Within days of taking office, President Biden issued the Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships.
THE FULL TEXT IS AVAILABLE AT: https://washingtonlawyer.dcbar.org/julyaugust2022/index.php#/p/42