OPA

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of the Interior today announced that there is a 15-day extension to the public comment period on the Cobell Land Consolidation Draft Plan. The public comment period will now end on April 3, 2012.

The Cobell Land Consolidation Program will not be implemented until all court approvals are final; however, Interior has prepared the draft plan to continue the tribal consultation on the development of the program.

In accordance with the $3.4 billion Cobell Settlement a $1.9 billion land consolidation fund is to be used to purchase fractionated interests in trust or restricted fee lands from willing sellers to benefit tribal communities and aid in land consolidation.

The initial publication in the Federal Register, on February 23, 2012, opened a 45-day comment period on the draft Cobell Land Consolidation Plan. The plan seeks to remedy the proliferation of thousands of new trust accounts caused by the increasing subdivision or “fractionation” of trust and restricted fee land interests through succeeding generations. The draft consolidation plan proposes a voluntary buy-back and consolidation of fractionated trust and restricted fee land interests that would occur over a 10-year period after the Cobell Settlement becomes final. This extension of 15-days will allow for more time due to numerous requests from Indian Country.

More information on the Cobell Trust Land Consolidation Program can be found at: http://www.doi.gov/cobell

The Cobell Land Consolidation Draft Plan can be found here.

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WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the settlement of lawsuits filed by 41 federally-recognized tribes against the United States, in which the tribes alleged that the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Treasury had mismanaged monetary assets and natural resources held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribes. The announcement followed a 22-month-long negotiation between the tribes and the United States that has culminated in settlements between the government and tribes totaling more than $1 billion.

These settlements resolve claims dating back more than 100 years and will bring to an end protracted litigation that has burdened both the plaintiffs and the United States. Ending these long-running disputes about the United States’ management of trust funds and non-monetary trust resources will allow the United States and the tribes to move beyond the distrust exacerbated by years of litigation. These settlement agreements represent a significant milestone in the improvement of the United States’ relationship with Indian tribes.

“These settlements fairly and honorably resolve historical grievances over the accounting and management of tribal trust funds, trust lands, and other non-monetary trust resources that, for far too long, have been a source of conflict between Indian tribes and the United States,” said Attorney General Holder. “Our commitment to tribes is the cornerstone of the Department of Justice’s policies and initiatives in Indian Country, and these settlements will enable the tribal community to pursue the goals and objectives they deem to be appropriate while marking another step in our shared future built upon mutual respect and strong bonds of trust between tribal governments and the United States.”

“These important settlements reflect President Obama’s continuing commitment to ensuring empowerment and reconciliation for American Indians,” said Secretary Salazar. “It strengthens the government-to-government relationship with Tribal nations, helps restore a positive working relationship with Indian Country leaders and empowers American Indian communities.

I want to commend Attorney General Holder, our Interior Solicitor Hilary Tompkins and other key officials who were involved in the long negotiations leading to these historic agreements. I look forward to working with Tribal leaders to further strengthen our government-to-government relationship based on mutual respect and a shared concern for the proper management of tribal trust assets and funds.”

The Department of the Interior manages almost 56 million acres of trust lands for federally recognized tribes and more than 100,000 leases on those lands for various uses, including housing, timber harvesting, farming, grazing, oil and gas extraction, business leasing, rights-of-way and easements. Interior also manages about 2,500 tribal trust accounts for more than 250 tribes.

Starting in the fall of 2009, lawyers for many of the tribes with litigation pending against the United States wrote to the president and asked the administration to engage in expedited settlement discussions with their clients. In April 2010, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division Ignacia Moreno, Interior Department Solicitor Hilary Tompkins and Treasury Department General Counsel George Madison met with attorneys for the tribes, and the parties embarked on a settlement process that the tribes termed the “Settlement Proposal to Obama Administration,” or “SPOA,” which led in part to today’s announcement.

In addition to the SPOA process, the Departments of Justice, Interior and Treasury have been engaging in other settlement processes involving other litigating tribes. Those processes have been both positive and productive, resulting in the past settlement of other tribal trust accounting and management cases and the processes will continue for other ongoing cases. The United States is committed to resolving the trust accounting and trust management claims of the tribes in a manner that is fair, honorable, and reasonable to the tribes and the United States.

Under the negotiated settlement agreements, litigation will end regarding the Department of the Interior’s accounting and management of the tribes’ trust accounts, trust lands and other natural resources. With monies from the congressionally-appropriated Judgment Fund, which is used to pay settlements or final judgments against the government, the United States will compensate the tribes for their breach of trust claims, and the tribes will waive, release and dismiss their claims with prejudice. The parties have agreed to information sharing procedures that will strengthen the management of trust assets and improve communications between tribes and the Department of the Interior. The settlement agreements also include dispute resolution provisions to reduce the likelihood of future litigation.

The sum total of the settlements with the 41 tribes is approximately $1.023 billion

The 41 tribes are:

1. Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation

2. Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

3. Blackfeet Tribe

4. Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians

5. Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians of Colusa Rancheria

6. Coeur d'Alene Tribe

7. Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation

8. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation

9. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

10. Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation

11. Hualapai Tribe

12. Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians of Arizona

13. Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas

14. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

15. Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Indians

16. Makah Tribe of the Makah Reservation

17. Mescalero Apache Nation

18. Minnesota Chippewa Tribe

19. Nez Perce Tribe

20. Nooksack Tribe

21. Northern Cheyenne Tribe

22. Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine

23. Pawnee Nation

24. Pueblo of Zia

25. Quechan Indian Tribe of the Fort Yuma Reservation

26. Rincon Luiseño Band of Indians

27. Round Valley Tribes

28. Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

29. Santee Sioux Tribe

30. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation

31. Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians

32. Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation

33. Spokane Tribe

34. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of the Fort Yates Reservation

35. Swinomish Tribal Indian Community

36. Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians

37. Tohono O'odham Nation

38. Tulalip Tribe 39.Tule River Tribe

40. Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

41. Ute Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation

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GALLUP, N.M. – On Saturday, June 2, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly will break ground on the long-awaited Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in New Mexico. Eventually the project will provide a 280-mile-long pipeline, two water treatment plants and delivery systems that will bring water to more than 250,000 people at more than 43 Navajo chapters, portions of the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the city of Gallup.

The initial stage of construction on the project that begins on Saturday will create upwards of 450 jobs, with more than 650 jobs at peak construction.

Secretary Salazar and President Shelly will be joined by a wide variety of other top tribal, state. Federal and local officials for the ceremony; a partial list follows.

WASHINGTON –President Donald Trump today proposed a $2.5 billion Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget for Indian Affairs, which includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). The President’s budget reaffirms his support of tribal sovereignty and self-determination across Indian Country by focusing on core funding and services to support ongoing tribal government operations, including an emphasis on infrastructure repair and improvements.

“President Trump promised the American people he would cut wasteful spending and make the government work for the taxpayer again, and that’s exactly what this budget does,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. “Working carefully with the President, we identified areas where we could reduce spending and also areas for investment, such as addressing the maintenance backlog in our National Parks and increasing domestic energy production on federal lands. The budget also allows the Department to return to the traditional principles of multiple-use management to include both responsible natural resource development and conservation of special places. Being from the West, I’ve seen how years of bloated bureaucracy and D.C.-centric policies hurt our rural communities. The President’s budget saves taxpayers by focusing program spending, shrinking bureaucracy, and empowering the front lines.”

“President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request for Indian Affairs strongly reflects his proposed investments in education, energy development, and infrastructure which focus on enhancing tribal prosperity through tribal, rather than federal efforts,” said Michael S. Black, acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. “We will achieve that by refocusing our resources into those programs that are most effective in supporting tribal self-determination.”

Indian Affairs plays an important role in carrying out the federal government’s trust, treaty and other responsibilities to the nation’s 567 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

Operation of Indian Programs

The FY18 budget proposal for Indian Affairs operational programs is $2.1 billion.

It includes $786.4 million for Advancing Indian Education, an investment that supports a vision for a 21st century Indian education system, grounded in both high academic standards and tribal values and traditions. The funding will allow for the comprehensive reorganization of the BIE to continue in FY18. The request proposes $643.9 million for Elementary and Secondary Education programs, $118.4 million for Post-Secondary programs, and $24.0 million for education management.

In its role as a capacity builder and service provider to support tribes in educating their youth and delivering world-class and culturally appropriate education across Indian Country, the budget request for Indian education focuses on direct school operations including classroom instruction, text books, student transportation, language development programs, Gifted and Talented programs, school maintenance, and in some remotely located schools, residential costs. Importantly, the budget continues to invest in activities that promote educational self-determination for Tribal communities. Accordingly, the budget proposes$74.4 million, an increase of $1.2 million, to fully fund Tribal Grant Support Costs for tribes that choose to operate BIE-funded schools.

The FY18 Operation of Indian Programs request for Supporting Indian Families and Protecting Indian Country includes:

• $123.9 million for BIA Office of Indian Services programs that provide social services, welfare assistance and Indian Child Welfare Act protections, all of which contribute to Indian Affairs’ mission to promote the development of prosperous tribal communities.
• $349.3 million for the BIA’s Office of Justice Services to support 190 law enforcement programs and 96 corrections programs operated by tribes and by the BIA as direct services, including $22.0 million for tribal courts and $1.3 million for fire protection.

The FY18 request for Supporting Sustainable Stewardship of Trust Resources and Lands supports Indian Affairs’ fiduciary trust responsibilities and sustainable stewardship of trust lands, natural resources and the environment in Indian Country. The budget proposes $112.0 million for the BIA’s Real Estate Services programs, which includes probating Indian trust assets, land title and records processing, geospatial support needs, and database management. The budget also proposes $165.5 million for the BIA’s Natural Resource Management programs, which assist tribes in the management, development and protection of Indian trust land and natural resources on 56 million surface acres and 59 million acres of subsurface mineral estates.

The budget supports the Administration’s focus on infrastructure with proposed increases totaling $12.3 million, including $3.8 million programs in the operations account for programs that support deferred maintenance projects for resource management infrastructure and roads. The budget includes:

• An additional $2.6 million for irrigation project operations and maintenance. This program serves the 17 Indian irrigation projects in the BIA’s asset inventory, 15 of which generate revenues that are used to fund most of their operations and maintenance. Annual receipts for the revenue-generating projects exceeded $33 million in 2016, which are reinvested into the projects.
• An increase of $1.2 million for the BIA’s Roads program for deferred maintenance projects. The program has maintenance responsibility for approximately 29,000 miles of BIA-owned roads and over 900 bridges.

The FY18 budget request also proposes $24.7 million for Minerals and Mining programs. Funding includes continued commitment to the Indian Energy Service Center, which was initially funded in 2016. Income from energy production is the largest source of revenue generated from trust lands, with royalty income of $534 million in 2016.

The FY18 request proposes $627.0 million for Tribal Priority Allocations, a $63.0 million decrease from the FY17 CR level.

Contract Support Costs

The President’s FY18 budget requests $241.6 million for Contract Support Costs, which support the tribes’ ability to assume responsibility for operating federal programs, maintains the Administration’s strong support for the principle of tribal self-determination and strengthening tribal communities across Indian Country. Based on the most recent analysis of funding levels in the 2018 request, the proposed amount will fully fund contract support costs.

Construction

The budget request for Construction is $143.3 million, which supports the Administration’s focus on Maintaining Essential Infrastructure and Resources.

It includes proposed increases totaling $12.3 million, including $8.5 million programs in the construction account, for deferred maintenance projects for resource management infrastructure and other BIA construction and deferred maintenance programs. The request proposes:

• An additional $2.5 million for the Safety of Dams program, which is currently responsible for 138 high or significant-hazard dams located on 42 Indian reservations, $1.8 million for dam maintenance, and $0.7 million for Survey and Design.
• An additional $1.5 million for irrigation projects rehabilitation. The irrigation rehabilitation program addresses critical deferred maintenance and construction work on BIA-owned and operated irrigation facilities, with a focus on health and safety concerns. Most facilities are reaching 100 years old and are in need of major capital improvements.
• An increase request of $2.0 million for deferred maintenance needs of regional and agency facilities at 127 locations to address safety, security and handicap accessibility issues where Indian programs are administered.

The budget provides $80.2 million for education construction programs to address deferred maintenance needs at the 183 campuses in the BIE school system. The proposal for construction projects is focused on continuing the planning and design of the 10 schools on the BIE’s 2016 School Replacement List as well as major improvement and repair projects at other education facilities.

Land and Water Claims Settlements

The FY18 request for authorized settlements payments is $14.0 million. Funding will support payments to enacted settlements authorized for appropriations. At the proposed funding level, the Department can continue to honor commitments within the statutory requirements for completion. These settlements resolve tribal land and water rights claims and ensure that tribes have access to land and water to meet their domestic, economic and cultural needs.

Indian Guaranteed Loan Program

The FY18 budget request for this program is $6.7 million. The funding level will guarantee $87.4 million in loan principal to support Indian economic development.

Indian Affairs’ FY18 Budget Justification is available here, and additional details on the President's FY18 Budget Request are available on the Department’s website. Visit https://www.doi.gov/budget/appropriations/2018/highlights to view the Department’s Budget in Brief.

The BIA’s mission includes developing and protecting Indian trust lands and natural and energy resources; supporting social welfare, public safety and justice in tribal communities; and promoting tribal self-determination and self-governance. For more information, visit the Indian Affairs website.

The BIE implements federal Indian education programs and funds 183 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools (of which two-thirds are tribally operated) located on 64 reservations in 23 states and peripheral dormitories serving over 47,000 individual students. BIE also operates two post-secondary schools, administers grants for 28 tribally controlled colleges and universities and two tribal technical colleges, and provides higher education scholarships to Native youth. For more information, visit the Bureau of Indian Education website.

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The Department of the Interior announced today that it favors the enactment of legislation to fix the final construction cost of irrigation works already constructed on the Wapato-Status Unit of the Wapato Indian Irrigation Project in Washington and to allocate that cost on a per-acre basis to the lands that can be served by these works.

In commenting on H. R. 12771, the Department pointed out that the bill is an outgrowth of the desire on the part of the Wapato-Status landowners to know with certainty the total construction charges against their lands.

“Although construction of the unit is not complete,” the Department said in its report, “we believe that it is sufficiently advanced to make feasible a designation of the acreage which can be served by the irrigation works already constructed, and an allocation of the cost of the works to those lands. Any lands thereafter brought within the system would pay the entire cost of the new construction but would pay no part of the cost of the construction already completed. The construction cost allocated to the ‘new’ land might therefore be either more or less than the cost allocated to the land now served.”

The Wapato-Status Unit consists of approximately 138,000 acres including 130,000 acres now served by the project works. Of the total, 85,228 acres are owned by Indians and 52,772 by non-Indians.

Under existing law construction costs of irrigation works assessed against Indian lands are deferred until the lands go out of Indian ownership, Consequently the difference between the construction costs allocated to the "old" and the “new" lands are important only in the case of the non-Indian acreage.

“The new land to be brought within the system, “the Department’s report stated, “it is estimated to be about 8,000 acres, of which only 1,500 acres are owned by non-Indians. All of the land is interspersed with presently irrigated land and the cost of extending the irrigation system to the new land is expected to be considerably less than the per-acre cost of the works already constructed. If this additional cost were combined with the cost of the constructed works" the change in the assessment against the non-Indian land would be negligible. In view of this fact and in view of the fact that the non-Indians involved want their total obligation to be fixed on the basis of the present construction, we believe that the enactment of the bill is justified.”

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Interior Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb will complete the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ effort to connect its 185-school system to the Internet, known as Access Native America, when he brings Chichiltah/Jones Ranch Community School in Chichiltah, N.M., online this Thursday, August 23. Chichiltah/Jones Ranch Community School, located on the Navajo reservation, is a K-8 boarding and day school serving 206 students.

Assistant Secretary McCaleb, accompanied by William A. Mehojah, Jr., Director of the Office of Indian Education Programs, will be joined by students, parents, teachers, community representatives and Navajo Nation officials in celebrating the school’s entrée onto the Information Superhighway.

Since 1997, the goal of the Access Native America project has been to bring Internet access to all Bureau schools, which serve 48,693 elementary and secondary American Indian students, including 11,000 boarding school students, located on 63 reservations in 23 states. Bureau schools can be found in some of the remotest areas of the United States; one is even located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The Bureau partnered with corporations, universities, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Laguna Pueblo Tribal Education Department to provide computer hardware and software, network-engineering services and teacher training.

-BIA-

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today that Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman will be leaving the Department of the Interior effective May 23, 2008.

"Throughout your tenure, I have appreciated your able insight as we have worked to address important issues in Indian Country," Kempthorne said in a letter to Artman. "The Indian Modernization Initiative, developed and launched under Carl's leadership, has upgraded communications between tribal leaders and the Department on a number of priority issues."

"I believe at the end of this Administration, the work we have done within Indian Affairs will leave not just a legacy, but an infrastructure upon which American Indian and Alaska Natives can build to secure their governmental, cultural and economic futures," Artman said in a letter to Secretary Kempthorne. "Thank you for this opportunity, your support and your leadership. It has been a great pleasure to work for you and with you."

Artman, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, was confirmed as Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs by the Senate on March 5, 2007. He had served as the Department's Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs since February 2006.

Prior to joining the Solicitor's Office, he served as chief counsel for the Oneida Tribe where he managed the tribe's legal affairs and provided legal guidance for tribal-wide reorganization and economic development.

Artman, 41, also has experience in the private sector with telecommunications companies, including serving as general manager of development and operations for Voice Stream Wireless and vice president of legal affairs for Airadigm Communications. He has a bachelor's degree from Columbia College in Columbia, Mo., and a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

-- www.doi.gov -

PABLO, Montana – As part of President Obama’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations and fulfill federal trust obligations, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today issued a Secretarial Order reaffirming the Department of the Interior’s trust responsibilities to federally-recognized Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries and providing guidance for Interior agencies in carrying out their obligations to them.

“This Order reaffirms the Department’s obligations and demonstrates our continuing commitment to upholding the important federal trust responsibility for Indian Country,” said Secretary Jewell, who chairs the White House Council on Native American Affairs. “The landmark Cobell Settlement and resolution of nearly 80 other tribal trust management lawsuits under President Obama launched a new chapter in federal trust relations with tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries and reflects our dedication to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribal leaders.”

The Secretarial Order provides seven principles that apply to all Interior agencies, not just the Bureau of Indian Affairs, including supporting tribal sovereignty and self-determination; protecting tribal lands and resources; building partnerships; practicing responsiveness and timeliness; and seeking legal advice to ensure compliance with the trust responsibility. As federal agencies that make policy affecting Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries, all of the Department’s bureaus and offices share the same general federal trust responsibility.

"This Order speaks not only to American Indian tribes, but also to federal employees across the Department, reminding each of them of their important role in fulfilling the trust responsibility," said Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn. "It acknowledges that each of us working in the federal government has an important responsibility to Indian country and it ultimately takes all of us, working together, to meet our important obligations as a trustee."

The federal trust responsibility, which originates from the unique, historical relationship between the United States and Indian tribes, consists of the highest moral and legal obligations that the federal government must meet to ensure the protection of tribal and individual Indian lands, assets and resources as well as treaty and similarly recognized rights. Among their responsibilities, Interior agencies oversee $4.7 billion in trust funds derived from managing 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface mineral estate held in trust for individual Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives. Eleven million acres belong to individual Indians and 44 million acres to tribes. Interior administers more than 119,000 leases for the use of these lands, including oil, gas and mineral extraction, water and energy development, timber harvesting and grazing.

Today’s Secretarial Order responds to recommendations of the Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform, which was established in 2009 as part of the $3.4 billion Cobell Settlement, one of the largest class-action lawsuits in U.S. history. The Commission evaluated the Department’s trust administration system and identified potential improvements, urging a renewed emphasis on U. S. obligations so that all federal agencies understand their obligations to abide by and enforce trust duties. The Interior Department has taken a number of steps to address issues raised in the Commission’s report, as well as identified actions that the Department will take to improve the trust administration. A new document outlining those reforms is available here.

The Secretary made her announcement during a visit with leaders of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwest Montana, where she was joined by U.S. Senator Jon Tester; Vincent G. Logan, Special Trustee for American Indians; and Mike Black, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“The achievements of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes demonstrate that the federal trust responsibility often can be best achieved by empowering the tribes – by contracting with them so that they can provide the federal services owed under the trust responsibility,” Jewell noted. “The Salish & Kootenai Tribes were among the first to receive full self-governance rights in 1993, assuming key functions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and strengthening the economy of their community and the State of Montana.”

Interior’s Office of the Special Trustee, led by Vincent G. Logan, oversees reforms that have improved the accountability and management of Indian funds held in trust by the federal government. OST provides oversight and coordination of the policies, procedures, systems and practices used by various agencies to manage Indian trust assets. The Obama Administration also has helped to rebuild the federal trust relationship by resolving nearly 80 separate tribal trust management cases, providing $2.6 billion in settlements; and issuing a new federal policy in 2009 on consulting with Indian tribes, setting standards for engaging on a government-to-government basis to ensure agency decisions consider the impacts on affected tribes and their members. With an enrolled membership of about 8,000, the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Government is the largest employer in Lake County, Montana, with 1,200 employees; infuses $80 million a year into the area economy through a $35 million payroll and $45 million in purchases; and contributes about $317 million annually to Montana’s economy. The Secretary’s discussions with tribal leaders dealt with several current initiatives, including a cooperative agreement on a Land Buy Back Program to purchase and consolidate fractionated land ownership interests from willing sellers, as well as climate change impacts on tribal natural resources.

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THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

WASHINGTON

ORDER NO. 3335

Subject: Reaffirmation of the Federal Trust Responsibility to Federally Recognized Indian Tribes and Individual Indian Beneficiaries

Sec. 1 Purpose

In 2009, Secretary's Order No. 3292 established a Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform (Commission). The Commission issued its Final Report and Recommendations in December 2013, which sets forth its views and recommendations regarding the United States' trust responsibility. In response to the report, this Order sets forth guiding principles that bureaus and offices will follow to ensure that the Department of the Interior (Department) fulfills its trust responsibility.

Sec. 2 Authority

This Order is issued pursuant to the U.S. Constitution, treaties, statutes, Executive Orders, and other Federal laws that form the foundation of the Federal-tribal trust relationship and in recognition of the United States' trust responsibility to all federally recognized Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries.

Sec. 3 Background

The trust responsibility is a well-established legal principle that has its origins with the formation of the United States Government. In the modem era, Presidents, Congress, and past Secretaries of the Interior have recognized the trust responsibility repeatedly, and have strongly emphasized the importance of honoring the United States' trust responsibility to federally recognized tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries.

a. Legal Foundation. The United States' trust responsibility is a well-established legal obligation that originates from the unique, historical relationship between the United States and Indian tribes. The Constitution recognized Indian tribes as entities distinct from states and foreign nations. Dating back as early as 1831, the United States forman y recognized the existence of the Federal trust relationship toward Indian tribes. As Chief Justice John Marshall observed, "[t]he condition of the Indians in relation to the United States is perhaps unlike that of any other two people in existence ... marked by peculiar and cardinal distinctions which exist nowhere else." Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1, 16 (1831). The trust responsibility consists of the highest moral obligations that the United States must meet to ensure the protection of tribal and individual Indian lands, assets, resources, and treaty and similarly recognized rights. See generally Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law§ 5.04[3] (Nell Jessup Newton ed., 2012); Seminole Nation v. United States, 316 U.S. 286, 296-97 (1942).

The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly opined on the meaning of the United States' trust responsibility. Most recently, in 2011, in United States v. Jicarilla, the Supreme Court recognized the existence of the trust relationship and noted that the "Government, following 'a humane and self-imposed policy ... has charged itself with moral obligations of the highest responsibility and trust,' obligations 'to the fulfillment of which the national honor has been committed.'" The Court further explained that "Congress has expressed this policy in a series of statutes that have defined and redefined the trust relationship between the United States and the Indian tribes. In some cases, Congress established only a limited trust relationship to serve a narrow purpose. In other cases, we have found that particular 'statutes and regulations ... clearly establish fiduciary obligations of the Government' in some areas. Once federal law imposes such duties, the common law 'could play a role.' But the applicable statutes and regulations 'establish [the] fiduciary relationship and define the contours of the United States' fiduciary responsibilities."' United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation, 131 S. Ct. 2313, 2324-25 (2011)(internal citations omitted). While the Court has ruled that the United States' liability for breach of trust may be limited by Congress, it has also concluded that certain obligations are so fundamental to the role of a trustee that the United States must be held accountable for failing to conduct itself in a manner that meets the standard of a common law trustee. "This is so because elementary trust law, after all, confirms the commonsense assumption that a fiduciary actually administering trust property may not allow it to fall into ruin on his watch. 'One of the fundamental common-law duties of a trustee is to preserve and maintain trust assets."' United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe, 537 U.S. 465, 475 (2003)(internal citations omitted).

b. Presidential Commitments to the Trust Responsibility. Since this country's founding, numerous Presidents have expressed their commitment to upholding the trust responsibility. In the historic Special Message on Indian Affairs that marked the dawn of the self-determination age, President Nixon stated "[t]he special relationship between Indians and the Federal government is the result of solemn obligations which have been entered into by the United States Government ... [T]he special relationship ... continues to carry immense moral and legal force. To terminate this relationship would be no more appropriate than to terminate the citizenship rights of any other American." Public Papers of the President: Richard M. Nixon, Special Message on Indian Affairs (July 8, 1970).

For more than four decades, nearly every administration has recognized the trust responsibility and the unique government-to-government relationship between the United States and Indian tribes. President Obama established a White House Council on Native American Affairs with the Secretary of the Interior serving as the Chair. President Barack Obama, Executive Order No. 13647, Establishing the White House Council on Native American Affairs (June 26, 2013). The Order requires cabinet-level participation and interagency coordination for the purpose of "establish[ing] a national policy to ensure that the Federal Government engages in a true and lasting government-to-government relationship with federally recognized tribes in a more coordinated and effective manner, including by better carrying out its trust responsibilities." See also President Barack Obama, Memorandum on Tribal Consultation (Nov. 5, 2009); President George W. Bush, Executive Order No. 13336, American Indian and Alaska Native Education (Apr. 30, 2004); President William J. Clinton, Public Papers of the President: Remarks to Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Leaders (Apr. 29, 1994); President George H.W. Bush, Public Papers of the President: Statement Reaffirming the Government-to-Government Relationship Between the Federal Government and Indian Tribal Governments (Jun.14, 1991); President Ronald Reagan, American Indian Policy Statement, 19 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 98 (Jan. 24, 1983); President Gerald L. Ford, Public Papers of the President: Remarks at a Meeting with American Indian Leaders (July 16, 1976); President Richard M. Nixon, Public Papers of the President: Special Message on Indian Affairs (July 8, 1970); President Lyndon B. Johnson, Public Papers of the President: Special Message to the Congress on the Problems of the American Indian: "The Forgotten American" (March 6, 1968).

c. Congress. Congress has also recognized the United States' unique responsibilities to Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries. Recently, Congress passed a joint resolution recognizing the "special legal and political relationship Indian tribes have with the United States and the solemn covenant with the land we share" and acknowledged the "long history of depredations and ill-conceived polices by the Federal government regarding Indian tribes" and offered "an apology to all Native peoples on behalf of the United States." 111th Cong. 1st Sess., S.J. Res 14 (Apr. 30, 2009). Congress has expressly and repeatedly recognized the trust responsibility in its enactments impacting Indian Affairs. See, e.g., Indian Education and Self-Determination and Assistance Act of 1975; Tribal Self-Governance Amendments of 2000; American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994; Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994; Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 and Indian Education Act of 1972; Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978; Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982; Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership Act of 2012 (HEARTH Act).

d. The Department of the Interior. The Department likewise has recognized its obligations as a trustee towards Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries and has been vested with the authority to perform certain specific trust duties and manage Indian affairs.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was transferred from the War Department to the Department in 1849. Congress delegated authority to the Department for the "management of all Indian affairs and of all matters arising out of Indian relations[,]" 25 U.S.C. § 2 (2014); see also 25 U.S.C. § 9 (2014); 43 U.S.C. § 1457. The BIA became the principal actor in the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian Tribes, and later Alaska Native Villages, exercising administrative jurisdiction over tribes, individual Indians, their land and resources.

The BIA has evolved dramatically over the last 185 years from an agency implementing past policies of allotment and assimilation, to a bureau charged with promoting and supporting Indian Self-Determination. In addition, several other bureaus and offices within the Department were created for or have specific duties with respect to fulfilling the trust responsibility, such as the Bureau of Indian Education, Office of the Assistant Secretary- Indian Affairs, Secretary's Indian Water Rights Office, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations, Office of Historical Trust Accounting, Office of Natural Resource Revenue, Office of Appraisal Services, and Office of Minerals Evaluations. All of these programs support and assist federally recognized tribes in the development of tribal government programs, building strong tribal economies, and furthering the well-being of Indian people. As instruments of the United States that make policy affecting Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries, the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and the Department's other bureaus and offices share the same general Federal trust responsibility toward tribes and their members. In an extended legal opinion regarding the meaning of the trust responsibility, former Department of the Interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz concluded that "[t]he trust responsibility doctrine imposes fiduciary standards on the conduct of the executive. The government has fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, to make trust property income productive, to enforce reasonable claims on behalf of Indians, and to take affirmative action to preserve trust property." Memorandum from Department of the Interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz to Assistant Attorney General James W. Moorman, at 2 (Nov. 21, 1978). This opinion remains in effect today. In exercising this broad authority, past Secretaries have acknowledged that the Department's relationship with Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries is guided by the trust responsibility and have expressed a paramount commitment to protect their unique rights and ensure their well-being, while respecting tribal sovereignty. See e.g., Secretary's Order 3317, Department of the Interior Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes (Dec. 01, 2011 ); Secretary's Order 317 5, Departmental Responsibilities for Indian Trust Resources (Nov. 8, 1993); Secretary's Order 3206, American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal Trust Responsibilities, and the Endangered Species Act (Jun. 5, 1997); Secretary's Order 3215, Principles for the Discharge of the Secretary's Trust Responsibility (Apr. 28, 2000); Secretary's Order 3225, Endangered Species Act and Subsistence Uses in Alaska (Jan. 19, 2001). The Department has also sought to build a strong government-to-government relationship with Indian tribes. The Department of the Interior Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes, which was adopted in December 2011, sets forth standards for engaging with Indian tribes on a government-to-government basis to ensure that the decisions of the Department consider the impacts on affected Indian tribes and their members.

Sec. 4 A New Era of Trust

During the last few decades, the trust relationship has evolved. In the Era of Tribal Self-Determination, the Federal trust responsibility to tribes is often fulfilled when the Department contracts with tribal governments to provide the Federal services owed under the trust responsibility. Because tribal governments are more directly accountable to the people they represent, more aware of the problems facing Indian communities, and more agile in responding to changes in circumstances, tribal governments can often best meet the needs of Indian people. In sum, the Federal trust responsibility can often be achieved best by empowering tribes, through legislative authorization and adequate funding to provide services that fulfill the goals of the trust responsibility.

In recent decades, the trust relationship has weathered a difficult period in which Indian tribes and individual Indians have resorted to litigation asserting that the Department had failed to fulfill its trust responsibility, mainly with regard to the management and accounting of tribal trust funds and trust assets. In an historic effort to rebuild the trust relationship with Indian tribes, the Department recently settled numerous "breach of trust" lawsuits. This includes Cabell v. Salazar, one of the largest class action suits filed against the United States, and more than 80 cases involving Indian tribes. Resolution of these cases marks a new chapter in the Department's history and reflects a renewed commitment to moving forward in strengthening the government-to-government relationship with Indian tribes and improving the trust relationship with tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries.

As part of the Cabell Settlement, the Department established a Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform in 2009 through Secretary's Order No. 3292. The Commission issued its final report in December 2013. The report highlighted the significance of the Federal trust responsibility and made recommendations to the Department on how to further strengthen the commitment to fulfill the Department's trust obligations. The Commission urged a "renewed emphasis on the United States' fiduciary obligation" and asserted that this "could correct some [issues], especially with respect to ensuring that all federal agencies understand their obligations to abide by and enforce trust duties.

" As a response to the Commission's recommendation, this Order hereby sets forth seven guiding principles for honoring the trust responsibility for the benefit of current and future generations.

Sec. 5 Guiding Principles

Pursuant to the long-standing trust relationship between the United States, Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries and in furtherance of the United States' obligation to fulfill the trust responsibility, subject to Section 6 below, all bureaus and offices of the Department are directed to abide by the following guiding principles consistent with all applicable laws. Bureaus and offices shall:

Principle 1: Respect tribal sovereignty and self-determination, which includes the right of Indian tribes to make important decisions about their own best interests.

Principle 2: Ensure to the maximum extent possible that trust and restricted fee lands, trust resources, and treaty and similarly recognized rights are protected.

Principle 3: Be responsive and informative in all communications and interactions with Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries.

Principle 4: Work in partnership with Indian tribes on mutually beneficial projects.

Principle 5: Work with Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries to avoid or resolve conflicts to the maximum extent possible in a manner that accommodates and protects trust and restricted fee lands, trust resources, and treaty and similarly recognized rights.

Principle 6: Work collaboratively and in a timely fashion with Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries when evaluating requests to take affirmative action to protect trust and restricted fee lands, trust resources, and treaty and similarly recognized rights.

Principle 7: When circumstances warrant, seek advice from the Office of the Solicitor to ensure that decisions impacting Indian tribes and/or individual Indian beneficiaries are consistent with the trust responsibility.

Sec. 6 Scope and Limitations

a. This Order is for guidance purposes only and is adopted pursuant to all applicable laws and regulations.

b. This Order does not preempt or modify the Department's statutory mission and authorities, position in litigation, applicable privilege, or any professional responsibility obligations of Department employees.

c. Nothing in this Order shall require additional procedural requirements related to Departmental actions, activities, or policy initiatives.

d. Implementation of this Order shall be subject to the availability of resources and the requirements of the Anti-Deficiency Act.

e. Should any Indian tribe(s) and the Department agree that greater efficiency in the implementation of this Order can be achieved, nothing in this Order shall prevent them from implementing strategies to do so.

f. This Order is intended to enhance the Department's management of the United States' trust responsibility. It is not intended to, and does not, create any right to administrative or judicial review or any legal right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by a party against the United States, its agencies, or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

Sec. 7 Expiration Date

This Order is effective immediately and will remain in effect until it is incorporated into the Department Manual, or is amended, suspended, or revoked, whichever occurs first.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced a Secretarial Order encouraging cooperative management opportunities between the Department’s land and water managers and federally-recognized tribes. The Secretarial Order sets out a framework to ensure that Native communities have the opportunity to assume meaningful and substantive roles in managing public lands that have special geographical, historical and cultural connections to the tribes.

Secretary Jewell announced the Order at the annual Alaska Federation of Natives Conference in Fairbanks, Alaska. In her remarks, Jewell shared that her Order facilitates collaborative partnerships and the integration of tribal ecological knowledge, practices and concerns into the management of federal lands, waters and natural resources where there is a connection to tribal communities.

“This Secretarial Order reflects the Obama Administration’s deep commitment to strengthen respect between the United States government and Native American and Alaska Native leaders and communities while boosting our efforts to increase tribal self-determination and self-governance,” said Secretary Jewell. “This kind of collaboration with tribal nations will help ensure that we’re appropriately and genuinely integrating indigenous expertise, experience and perspectives into the management of public lands.”

Interior land and water management agencies covered by the Secretarial Order include the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Reclamation. The Secretarial Order directs these agencies to identify opportunities and undertake efforts to partner with tribes in the management of their land and water resources. These efforts include identifying key personnel to explore such collaborative management arrangements; developing bureau-specific guidance for collaborative partnerships with tribes; and engaging in consultation with tribal governments at bureau, regional, and unit levels to better understand tribal interests in specific collaborative opportunities.

Interior Deputy Secretary Michael L. Connor, who has been a champion for collaborative management opportunities with indigenous communities during his tenure, noted that the Secretarial Order is guided by Interior’s federal trust responsibility to federally-recognized tribes and self-governance principles. Connor helped negotiate the successful Kuskokwim River Pilot Project in Alaska which is a cooperative partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission for the management of fish and wildlife resources in the area.

“This Order ensures a continued connection between Native communities and federal lands where we share complementary interests in conserving and managing fish, wildlife and their habitats, and protecting cultural resources,” said Deputy Secretary Connor. “Cooperative management and other collaborative partnerships with tribes help ensure the protection of public lands and resources, guides appropriate development, and assists in better understanding and addressing the effects of climate change.”

As outlined, the Secretarial Order guides Interior’s land management agencies to identify opportunities, consult with tribes, and implement cooperative management agreements or other collaborative partnerships as appropriate that relate to:

• Management of fish and wildlife resources;
• Identification, protection, preservation and management of cultural sites;
• Management of plant resources, including collection of plant material;
• Delivery of specific programs and services;
• Management and implementation of agency-related maintenance activities; and
• Managing public information related to tribal, cultural and/or educational materials related to an agency.

The Order does not address ‘co-management,’ which are situations where there is a specific legal basis that requires co-management of natural resources or that makes co-management otherwise necessary. In some instances, such as management of the salmon harvest in the Pacific Northwest, co-management has been established by law.