The U.S. Departments of the Interior, the Interior and Justice are
holding one listening session in Phoenix and six regional field hearings
with Indian Country’s 567 federally recognized tribes on improving
tribal input on federal development of infrastructure projects, such as
the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The opposition by
the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has
caught national and international media attention, resulted in the
listening session and field hearings.
The three
federal agencies stated in a news release last week that on Sept. 9,
they announced their intention to hold these consultation sessions after
important issues were raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other
tribal nations and their members regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline
specifically, and infrastructure-related decision-making more generally.
Navajo
Nation President Russell Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez stated
in an August letter to Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David
Archambault II that the Navajo Nation supports the Standing Rock Sioux.
The
Sept. 9 announcement by the federal agencies to hold consultation
sessions came after a federal judge denied a request by the Standing
Rock Sioux Tribe and other tribes to halt construction of DAP also on
Sept. 9.
Also on Sept. 9, the federal agencies
also called on the Army Corp of Engineers to halt construction of DAP
until it can determine whether it would need to reconsider any of its
previous decisions regarding DAP under the National Environmental Policy
Act or other federal laws.
According to last
week’s news release, the consultations will focus on how the federal
government can better ensure meaningful tribal input into
infrastructure-related decisions and the protection of tribal lands,
resources, and treaty rights, and will also explore with tribes whether
new legislation should be proposed to Congress to alter the current
statutory framework to promote those goals.
The listening session with tribes is scheduled for Oct. 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the National Congress of American Indians 73rd annual conference at the Phoenix Convention Center.
The tribal consultation field hearings are scheduled to being on Oct. 25 and end on Nov. 21 with a teleconference hearing.
Albuquerque is the site of one of the six hearings and it is scheduled for Oct. 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The hearing location has not been identified.
The teleconference hearing is set for Nov. 21 from 12:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, U.S. Eastern Standard Time. The call-in number is 888-790-1868 and the passcode is 8468468.
The
federal agencies stated in a letter to the 567 tribes that they would
be providing a framing paper with additional detail on the following two
questions:
(1) How can federal agencies better ensure
meaningful tribal input into infrastructure-related reviews and
decisions, to protect tribal lands, resources, and treaty rights within
the existing statutory framework?
(2) Should the federal agencies propose new legislation altering the statutory framework to promote these goals?
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