Working with American Indian tribes on wildland fires: protecting cultural heritage sites in northwestern California

Abstract

Federal agencies have a responsibility to American Indian tribes and tribal communities for the management and protection of tribal trust resources for reservation and public lands within tribes’ ancestral lands and territories (Pevar 2002, Wilkinson and The American Indian Resources Institute 2004). The Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act (1975: Public Law 93-638) also provides mechanisms for establishing working relationships regarding the management of Federal programs (e.g., compact or cooperative agreements). The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976: Public Law 94-579) requires coordination with approved tribal management plans for the purposes of development and revisions of such plans and is inclusive of programs or projects. Federal Government consultation, such as government-to-government protocol agreements with federally recognized tribes (Executive Order 13175, 2000), provides one mechanism for raising concerns and understanding potential impacts to cultural resources and related tribal trust resources resulting from Federal fire management activities. Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and fire management agreements between tribes and Federal agencies provide a framework for clarifying the agencies’ and tribes’ roles in collaborative and cooperative fire management for the protection, security, and mitigation of impacts to tribal trust and cultural and heritage resources.

Citation

Lake, Frank K. 2011. Working with American Indian tribes on wildland fires: protecting cultural heritage sites in northwestern California. Fire Management Today. 71(3): 14-21.