National Tribal Environmental Council

Six months ago, a plan to develop a national strategy for tribal natural resources management was initiated by Arthur “Butch” Blazer of the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society and Gary Morishima of the Intertribal Timber Council.  Since then, a series of conference calls, a forum in Denver, and a roundtable discussion at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Mid-Winter Session were held.  The intertribal organizations that are participating in this effort are: Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians; Council of Energy Resource Tribes; Intertribal Agriculture Council; Indian Nations Conservation Alliance; Intertribal Timber Council; Native American Fish & Wildlife Society; National Congress of American Indians; National Tribal Environmental Council; Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission; and United South and Eastern Tribes.

This initiative seeks to form a coalition of intertribal organizations that would support tribal leaders with management of their resources on their own terms to benefit their own people. The goals are to assist tribal leaders achieve healthy, productive natural resources and vital, resilient tribal communities; address impediments to tribal management of natural resources to benefit their communities; improve availability, awareness, access and efficiency of information and funds available to support tribal natural resource management; and increase tribal influence in the development and implementation of national and international natural resource policies and programs.

There have been previous efforts to create a national tribal strategy, which was pointed out during the recent roundtable. But from those attempts, lessons were learned and shared both as cautionary notes and guidance for this new initiative.  Consensus emerged at the roundtable to move forward. There was also acknowledgement of the opportunity with the Obama Administration for integration of tribal leaders and tribal organizations with federal agencies as called for in the Presidential Memorandum on Tribal Consultation. In that regard, there is a strong possibility of obtaining federal funding to support the advancement of a tribal natural resources strategy.

The next steps are to form a tribal steering committee that would develop a proposal for creating and advancing a national strategy; share the proposal and solicit feedback from tribal leaders and stakeholders; and obtain funding to support the steering committee efforts to achieve its goals.

NTEC supports this initiative and appreciates the leadership of Butch Blazer and Gary Morishima, and Jose Aguto at NCAI.  Their passion and rallying efforts have provided the energy and credibility to move this initiative forward. Gary Morishima makes a compelling case for collaborating and being more effective in environmental stewardship. He implores us to support tribal leaders and prevent infringements on tribal sovereignty, and threats to tribal cultures, economies and environments.  This is an important and powerful plea. NTEC has responded and will work with tribes, tribal leaders and tribal organizations for this initiative to be successful, as it is vitally important for tribes to take greater control of their natural resources and to protect them from further exploitation, encroachment, and degradation. If interested in the background presentations and materials, please contact Jerry Pardilla at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .