Working with Tribes | Partnership Stories
Native American Liaison
Working together with Native American Liaisons and officials from among the Federally recognized tribes nationwide, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of the Native American Liaison identifies areas where both Federal and tribal conservation efforts can most effectively conserve fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. The National and Regional Native American Liaisons combine their backgrounds in wildlife biology, conservation, and Indian law and policy to achieve the best possible conservation scenario in Indian Country.
Read more, including the latest news regarding grants and conservation on tribal lands, on their website.
American Indian Tribal Right , Federal-Tribal Trust Responsibilities,
and the Endangered Species Act
Secretarial Order # 3206 was issued by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce on June 5, 1997 to clarify the responsibilities of the component agencies, bureaus and offices of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce, when actions taken under authority of the Endangered Species Act and associated implementing regulations affect, or may affect, Indian lands, tribal trust resources, or the exercise of American Indian tribal rights.
Read the Secretarial Order.
Find answers to frequently asked questions regarding this order.
U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
The United States has a unique legal and political relationship with Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities as provided by the Constitution of the United States, treaties, court decisions and Federal statutes. Within the government-to-government relationship, Indian Affairs provides services directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts to 564 Federally recognized tribes.
Read more, including the latest news regarding endangered species programs, on their website.
Responsibilities for Indian Trust Resources
The Department of the Interior includes in its departmental manual a chapter regarding responsibilities for Indian trust resources, with the purpose of establishing the policies, responsibilities, and procedures for operating on a government-to-government basis with federally recognized Indian tribes for the identification, conservation, and protection of American Indian and Alaska Native trust resources to ensure the fulfillment of the Federal Indian Trust Responsibility.
Read this chapter of the manual.
