Grijalva, Sen. Heinrich Commemorate Native American Heritage Month, Introduce Bills to Elevate Tribes’ Role in Land Management and Protect Cultural Sites
Washington, D.C. – On the first day of Native American Heritage Month, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) today introduced two House and Senate companion bills to advance Tribal management of public lands and to improve the protection of sacred and cultural sites: The Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act and the Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act.
Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act: BILL TEXT | AMENDMENT SUMMARY | FACT SHEET
Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act: BILL TEXT | SECTION BY SECTION | FACT SHEET
“This country’s history of stealing, silencing, and suppressing Indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage and connections to their ancestral homelands is an injustice that can never be fully remedied, but we can’t resign ourselves to complacency,” Ranking Member Grijalva said. “Current deficiencies in our public land management laws limit the tools we have for upholding our trust and treaty responsibilities to protect these lands and the tribes’ many cultural resources that remain on them. These bills will aim to correct those missteps and ensure that tribes have the say they deserve in how our public lands are managed, protected, and conserved. I want to thank the many tribal nations that have long advocated for these fixes and Senator Heinrich for his partnership in transforming that advocacy into legislation. This is a bipartisan issue and I hope my Committee colleagues will prioritize it for consideration.”
“Tribes across Indian Country have ancestral sites, historical ecological knowledge, and ongoing cultural practices on our federal public lands,” said Sen. Heinrich. “I’m proud to introduce these two bills that give Tribes a formal role in participating in the management of public lands and finally put Tribal Nations on equal footing as states and local governments in acquiring land. This legislation helps deliver on the promise to respect Tribal sovereignty and protect the culture and traditions that exist within these ancestral homelands.”
BACKGROUND
The vast majority of federal public lands are ancestral homelands of Tribal nations. Despite forced removal and displacement from these traditional territories, Tribes’ cultural connections to these lands have never been extinguished. Tribal governments and their citizens maintain treaty rights to hunt, fish, and gather on public lands, and continue to access public lands to pray, conduct ceremonies, visit burial sites, and gather plants for traditional purposes.
However, current public land management laws fail to adequately protect tribal governments’ rights and interests. For example, public land on which a Tribal nation has a treaty right or sacred site may still be sold to private developers who could permanently destroy the site. In other cases, inadequate staff or resources put cultural items or sacred sites at risk of vandalism or theft.
The Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act and the Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act will update current public land management laws to elevate the role of Tribal nations and to improve cultural area and sacred site protection.
More specifically, the Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act will:
- Prohibit the sale of public land containing a Tribal cultural site, where a Tribal nation retains treaty or other reserved rights, or that contains a former reservation.
- Authorize Tribal governments to acquire public lands for public purposes.
- Increase Tribal consultation in public land use planning.
- Require the consideration of the presence of cultural sites and fulfillment of treaty obligations in federal land acquisition decisions.
- Require existing public land advisory boards to include at least one Tribal representative.
The Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act will:
- Establish a national Tribal Cultural Areas System to designate public lands with culturally significant sites. Tribal cultural areas would be managed to preserve their cultural values while allowing for traditional Tribal cultural use.
- Direct public land management agencies to identify potential Tribal cultural areas.
- Provide authority to Tribal nations in the management of Tribal cultural areas.
STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT (in alphabetical order)
"The Grand Canyon Trust supports both the Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act and the Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act,” said Amber Reimondo, Energy Director, Grand Canyon Trust. “We thank Congressman Grijalva and Senator Heinrich for the important work they've done here to support increased tribal involvement in federal lands management and enhanced protection for cultural sites."
“Hispanics Enjoying Camping Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO) applauds Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-7) and Senator Heinrich (NM-D) for introducing two pieces of legislation to advance Tribal management of public lands and to improve the protection of sacred and cultural sites, and expresses its strong support for these bills. HECHO believes public land management laws must be inclusive, authentic, and mutually beneficial. We support increased tribal representation and inclusion in the management and protection of public lands. Indigenous people must have an equal role and the right to make decisions on the management and the future of public lands to which they have a deep cultural, spiritual, and historical connection.
“The Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Lands Act is a major step to improving federal laws, requiring Indigenous People to be consulted on public lands management to ensure they have a genuine seat at the decision-making table. This Act offers Tribal governments the same opportunity to acquire public lands, including sacred and cultural sites, giving them the respect and due authority to protect their ancestral patrimony.
“HECHO supports the preservation of cultural heritage and sacred sites on public lands and the importance of increasing the role of Tribal governments to protect and manage them. The Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act is a significant measure to establish a national Tribal Cultural Areas System that would preserve important cultural sites and require federal land management agencies to identify potential cultural areas with the input and recommendation of tribal members – an effort that HECHO supports,” said Camilla Simon, executive director of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO).
“HECHO strongly supports tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, self-determination, and the trust responsibility of the federal government to Tribes. The passage of these bills is a necessary pathway to respecting these obligations and laws.”
“The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) applauds Representative Grijalva and Senator Heinrich for the introduction of the Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act and the Advancing Tribal Parity in Public Land Act. Indigenous people have honored their relationship with this great land at its sacred sites since time immemorial,” said NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr., “and the loss of these lands through treaty, removal, or other means have not diminished their sacred nature or the importance they hold to the descendants of those who first acknowledged them. These bills indicate a move towards restoring these sites to their purpose, and uphold hundreds of years of trust obligations by including Tribal Nations in the management and preservation of their sacred places.”
“It is past time to give deference to tribal sovereignty, tribal ecological knowledge, and treaty obligations,” said Starlyn Miller, Director of the Native Lands Partnerships at The Wilderness Society. “These bills, introduced on the first day of Native American Heritage Month, have the promise of ensuring that Tribal Nations can protect culturally significant lands and sacred sites and ensure that Tribal Nations have a voice in our federal land management system.”
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