The purpose of this course is to provide you with the basic knowledge to:

• Identify some of the basic historical, cultural and governance attributes of tribal governments that influence effective working relationships.
• Use the information in the course to begin to build effective partnerships with tribal governments to help build and enhance community resilience.
• Work in concert with tribal governments to protect people and property against all types of hazards.

To receive credit for this course, you must:

Complete all of the lessons. Each lesson will take between 20 and 30 minutes to complete. It is important to allow enough time to complete the course in its entirety.

Tribal governments are an essential part of our nation's emergency management team. Effective partnerships with tribes are necessary to fulfill FEMA's mission of working together to improve our nation's disaster preparedness and response.  FEMA is committed to supporting Indian Country in its efforts to build more resilient and better prepared communities.

Effective partnerships form and evolve because the individual partners have an understanding, appreciation, and respect for one another that is acquired through education and life experiences.

This course is designed to provide you with the basic knowledge to:

• Identify some of the basic historical, cultural and governance attributes of tribal governments that influence effective working relationships.
• Use the information in the course to begin to build effective partnerships with tribal governments to help build and enhance community resilience.
• Work in concert with tribal governments to protect people and property against all types of hazards.

Throughout this course, tribal representatives speak to us about their history, their culture, their way of life, and what we need to know to develop good relationships with tribal communities.

These representatives provide insight into tribal communities that have endured great suffering and faced many challenges while remaining proud and committed to caring for one another, their land, and their traditions.

Several lessons are devoted to specific program challenges that you may encounter while working with tribal governments.  These challenges may include training requests, implementation of the NIMS and Incident Command, the process to request an Emergency or Major Disaster Declaration, providing financial and technical assistance through the Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, and Hazard Mitigation Programs.

It will be important to remember that tribal communities are constantly trying to find the appropriate balance between preserving their culture and traditions and the ways and technologies of the modern world. When implementing federal programs, this need to find that balance most appropriate for the tribe will be the key to successful outcomes and building productive relationships for the future.

The program challenges presented in the course reflect actual experiences of Native people and FEMA representatives working together before, during, and after disasters to deliver assistance in Indian Country.

Throughout the course, you will be able check your knowledge by answering general questions about the material and by applying what you have learned to a disaster scenario. After completing all eight lessons, you can take the final examination online. An Independent Study Program Certificate of Achievement will be issued if you score at least 75 percent on this examination.

Upon completion of this Lesson you should be able to:

• Correctly identify concepts of sovereignty, federal recognition and self-governance as they relate to tribal governments and their culture.
• Identify potential challenges you may face when working with tribal nations.

Federally Recognized Tribal Governments are sovereign nations.

Sovereignty is a legal word for an ordinary concept—the authority to self-govern. Hundreds of treaties, along with the Supreme Court, the President, and Congress, have repeatedly affirmed that tribal nations retain their inherent powers of self-government. These treaties, executive orders, and laws have created a fundamental contract between tribes and the United States.

The Congress shall have the power to…regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”

- Article 1, Section 8, United States Constitution

For the federal government, U.S. Tribal sovereignty means that tribes possess all powers of self-government except those relinquished under treaty with the United States, those that Congress has expressly extinguished, and those that federal courts have ruled are subject to existing federal law or are inconsistent with overriding national policies.

This also means that federally recognized tribes are protected from encroachment by other sovereigns, such as the states or other countries. Limitations on tribal self-government are few but do include the same limitations applicable to states, such as to make war, engage in foreign relations, or print and issue currency.

To become a federally recognized tribe, a group must successfully petition the United States government to be granted the approval of becoming a federal recognized tribe. This process is completed through the federal courts in order to provide evidence that this group existed.

This process will then enable the tribe to pursue grants, contracts and additional means of self-sufficiency that can be provided through the federal government. The work does not stop there, as tribes continue to face various difficult administrative obstacles to achieve growth in their independence.

Currently, 573 sovereign tribal nations (variously called tribes, nations, bands, pueblos, communities, and Native villages) have a formal nation-to-nation relationship with the US government. These tribal governments are legally defined as “Federally Recognized Tribes.” Alaska contains 229 of these tribal nations and the remaining tribes are located in 36 other states.

In total, tribal governments exercise jurisdiction over lands that would make Indian Country the fourth largest state in the nation.

Please visit this link for more information about federally recognized tribes.

Tribes have inherent powers of sovereignty and self-governance that predate the "discovery" of America by Columbus. On the other hand, tribes have only those attributes of sovereignty that Congress gives them. Over the years, the Court has relied on one or the other of these perspectives in deciding tribal sovereignty cases. It is important to note that whichever theory the Court has favored in a given case has determined to a large extent what powers the tribes have and what protections they receive against federal and state government encroachment.

For tribes, sovereignty means the ability to manage their own affairs and exist as nations that are recognized as having control over their own destinies. Tribes possess all powers of self-government including the right to form their government; to make and enforce laws, both civil and criminal; to license and regulate activities within their jurisdiction; to zone; and to exclude persons from tribal lands.

Today, tribal governments maintain the power to determine their own governance structures, pass laws, and enforce laws through police departments and tribal courts.

Tribal governments provide multiple programs and services, including, but not limited to, social programs, first-responder services, education, workforce development, and energy and land management. They also build and maintain a variety of infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and public buildings.

State governments and Tribal governments have a great deal in common, and established best practices in Tribal-State relationships can result in more successful cooperation at the local level rather than conflict.

The federal Indian trust responsibility is a legal obligation under which the United States “has charged itself with moral obligations of the highest responsibility and trust” toward Indian tribes (Seminole Nation v. United States, 1942). This obligation was first discussed by Chief Justice John Marshall in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831). Over the years, the trust doctrine has been at the center of numerous other Supreme Court cases, thus making it one of the most important principles in federal Indian law.

The federal Indian trust responsibility is also a legally enforceable fiduciary obligation on the part of the United States to protect tribal treaty rights, lands, assets, and resources, as well as a duty to carry out the mandates of federal law with respect to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages. In several cases discussing the trust responsibility, the Supreme Court has used language suggesting that it entails legal duties, moral obligations, and the fulfillment of understandings and expectations that have arisen over the entire course of the relationship between the United States and the federally recognized tribes.

It’s important to understand that as a sovereign nation, Tribal Governments have their own governmental organizations. Many tribes have constitutions, others operate under articles of association or other bodies of law, and some have found a way to combine their traditional systems of government within a modern governmental framework, such as utilizing a discussion based peacemaking or “mediation” alternative before proceeding with legal actions amongst members of a tribe.

Some tribes do not operate under any of these acts, but are nevertheless organized under documents approved by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Contemporary tribal governments are usually, but not always, modeled upon the federal system of the three branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

The Chief Elected or Executive Official (CEO) in a Tribal Government is similar to the highest elected leader of a Nation, for example the President in the U.S. or a Governor in a state or territory. The title of a tribal CEO will differ from tribe to tribe. Governor, President, Chairman or Chairwoman, Chief or Principal Chief, Mayor, Spokesperson or Representative are among the most common.

A tribes legislative body is usually called a tribal council, a village council, or a tribal business committee. It is usually comprised of members who are elected by eligible tribal voters. In some tribes, the council is comprised of all eligible adult tribal members. Although some tribes require a referendum by their members to enact laws, a tribal council generally acts as any other legislative body in creating laws, authorizing expenditures, appropriating funds, and conducting oversight of activities carried out by the chief executive and tribal government employees.

As a federal employee, you might not ever meet the CEO of a tribe or meet with the Council, depending on how busy they are, and depending on how formal the protocols are for that tribe. For most of your work with FEMA, you will likely initiate contact and work with the tribe’s designated emergency manager, public safety manager, or other emergency response related position.

Should you have the opportunity to interact with tribal leadership, it’s important to convey the utmost respect just as you would the U.S. President or Vice President or a member of Congress.

For more information about the organization of tribal governments, please visit this website: https://www.bia.gov/frequently-asked-questions

Like other U.S. citizens and local governments, American Indians and tribal governments may be eligible for Federal disaster assistance and other programs that benefit individuals and their communities. 

Some of the challenges that a government worker may discover when working with a tribal community include:  

• The State and local emergency management network overlooks tribal governments.
• Tribal cultures and traditions may conflict with work expectations and procedures.
• Indian communities often mistrust representatives of the Federal Government.

Del Brewer, Former FEMA Employee

I'm amazed when FEMA people say we should deal with tribes the same way as any other applicants for assistance. Tribes are sovereign governments that want to deal directly with the Federal Government.

Every tribe is different, the leadership is different, the protocol for contacting them is different. I find someone who knows about that tribe to tell me how to approach the leadership.

Joan Rave, FEMA Employee

In 1992, a flood recovery operation in Arizona forced us to flex the Stafford Act to its limit in order to achieve the Congressional mandate of getting assistance to all eligible applicants. The Major Disaster area included 11 federally recognized Indian tribes-among them the Navajo (the largest landed tribe in the U.S.), the Hopi (who have lived on ancient mesas for hundreds of years), Havasupai (their Reservation is at the bottom of the Grand Canyon), and others.

The FEMA Emergency Response Team, most of us from the Seattle area and few of us with tribal experience, set out to deliver assistance in communities that existed before Columbus landed; where English is a second language; and where Federal agents and other non-tribal governments are viewed with suspicion and considered to be the cause of cultural alienation and political disenfranchisement.

Many tribes are new to emergency management and disaster assistance. Some things you should consider are:

• Tribal communities traditionally care for their own people in disasters.
• Tribal leaders may not know how to ask for Federal disaster assistance.
• Tribal people may see FEMA's role as interference with tribal culture.
• Tribal people often do not distinguish among government agencies.

Above all, remember that good relations depend on respect for tribal leadership structures and decisionmaking processes.

Tribal viewpoints reflect a range of experience with emergency management and with FEMA.

Julie Bator, elected official, Alaska Native Village of Tazlina

I think FEMA is a myth to people in our area. I think FEMA has been seen as assisting hurricane victims in Florida, flood victims in North Dakota. And it seems like our community is too small, and the reaction we've gotten from other Federal agencies has been so minimal to our needs and wants that we have not ever expected FEMA to pay attention to us.

Unless it was a drastic emergency, they wouldn't want your interference because people would come from neighboring villages, as they always do, to support our families and other people within our clan, and take care of our own. And we pride ourselves in being able to do that.

Tim Sanders, Emergency Manager, Gila River Indian Community

It would be important to find out who the tribal chairperson or the president or the governor is. It's important to communicate on that government-to-government level.

Tribal officials, elders in particular, will really want to explain what their point is, and they may take a little while to do that. And it's important that you respect that and not try to rush that conversation along, not try to get to the endpoint. There have been instances in working with FEMA where, maybe in preliminary damage assessments and things like that, FEMA is used to working with counties and State governments that are used to working quickly and getting that information to FEMA. It may not always happen that quickly at the tribal government level.

Audio Transcript:

Heavy rains continue to soak the central and southern portions of the State, causing the Roaring River to swell. Flooded roads and washed-out bridges are making travel difficult. There is extensive flooding throughout the State, including several Indian reservations, some in very remote areas. Hundreds of people on reservations are moving to tribal emergency shelters.

Governor Scofield has declared a State of Emergency and disaster teams in the FEMA Region are on alert.

New upstream development has pushed flood levels on tribal lands to record highs, with loss to individual and private property to be extensive.

None of the tribes are familiar with the national emergency management system, and none has previously received FEMA disaster assistance.

Now that you've completed this lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify concepts of sovereignty, federal recognition and self-governance as they relate to tribal governments and their culture.
• Identify potential challenges you may face when working with tribal nations.

In the next lesson, you will learn about the historical and legal background that led to current relations between tribes and the Federal Government.

Upon completion of this lesson you should be able to:

• Identify periods of history and the related Federal Government policy toward Indian tribes.
• Describe the importance of sovereign nation status and the current government-to-government relationships.

There have been radical shifts in policy toward Indian nations that negatively impacted the cultures, identities, and ancestral lands of these great nations.

The historical timeline for these major changes falls within seven periods:

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

This lesson is designed to help you learn about what occurred in each of these periods and its effect on Native Americans.

Audio Transcript

What was it like in the America that greeted the first Europeans? You may be surprised to learn it was far from a wilderness with uncivilized inhabitants.

Come with me as we travel back to that period and see what it was really like.

The population was in the millions and may have matched the population numbers for Western Europe. These numbers would be reduced drastically as a result of war and the diseases introduced by the new settlers: diseases like smallpox, typhus, and influenza.

The native's diet was varied and plentiful. Most tribes combined aspects of hunting, gathering, and the cultivation of maize and other food supplies. Every tomato in Italy, every potato in Ireland, and every hot pepper in Thailand came from this hemisphere. Corn, or maize as it is known, spread throughout the earth as the Indians cultivated many varieties for different growing conditions. The use of Indian crops throughout the world dramatically reduced hunger and led to a population boom in the Old World. Indians produced bumper crops of elk, deer, and bison by cultivating the environment.

They used fire for two reasons: to keep down underbrush and create open, grassy spaces required for the game to populate. The first white settlers in Ohio found forests as open as English parks in which they could drive carriages through the woods. The use of fire shaped the plains that created the environment for vast buffalo farms.

Indian life was essentially clan-orientated and communal, with children allowed more freedom and tolerance than European children. While some clans were nomadic, many others lived in settlements. For example, in what is now the southwest United States, the Anasazi, ancestors of the modern Hopi Indians, built stone and adobe pueblos. These unique and apartment-like structures were often built along cliff faces. The most famous, the "cliff palace" of Mesa Verde, Colorado, had over 200 rooms.

Indian society was closely tied to the land and the rhythms and spirit of nature. Indians believe that if you take care of Mother Nature she will take care of you. This was in direct conflict with the Europeans, who considered land and nature a commodity to be owned and used for their individual purposes. This difference would later be the source of much of the conflict that occurred between the native and European cultures.

As a way of preserving their culture some North American tribes developed a type of hieroglyphics, but mostly they depended on oral communications. Even today, history and values are handed down from generation to generation through the recounting of tales and dreams.

Tribes routinely interacted with one another through trade and extensive formal relations, quite an accomplishment considering there were hundreds of different languages spoken.

The ideals of democracy and equality are ideals that were part of the Indian way of life. Both men and women had a say in the tribe's decisions. The colonists had no experience with democracy as they had lived under the rule of monarchies and generally referred to the native village leaders as kings.

Rather than a backward nation of indigent people, the Europeans found themselves in a populous new world more sophisticated than what they had left behind.

You have just completed the Pre-European Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

The movement to North America grew from a trickle of a few hundred European colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers. Why did they leave Europe in mass? For most people, it was to:

• Escape political oppression of the ruling parties.
• Find freedom to practice their religion.
• Avoid economic difficulties sweeping England.

The settlers acquired Indian lands through the doctrine of discovery (simply locating land and laying claim to it), transfer from the English crown, and treaties with the Indians.

Treaties are documents between two independent sovereignties to negotiate borders, provide access to resources, and settle land and military disputes.

The colonists settled mostly on the east coast because the English government had forbidden encroachment of the colonists west of the Appalachians. This policy was intended to maintain peace with the Indian tribes and discourage any alliance between them and France.

Following the Revolutionary War, the United States continued the treatymaking with the tribes started by the Spanish and British. These treaties or agreements, negotiated on a government-to-government pattern, sought to establish peace and territorial boundaries and to regulate trade and extradition of criminals.

In the early years of the United States, Indian affairs were governed by the Continental Congress, which in 1775 created a Committee on Indian Affairs headed by Benjamin Franklin. Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution describes Congress's powers over Indian affairs: "To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes."

The 1778 Treaty With the Delaware Indians was the first between the United States and an Indian tribe. Take a look at the first part of this treaty and see if you can answer the question that follows concerning its purpose.

Sept. 17 1778, 7 Stat., 13. [3]

Articles of agreement and confederation, made and entered into by Andrew and Thomas Lewis, Esquires, Commissioners for, and in Behalf of the United States of North-America of the one Part, and Capt. White Eyes, Capt. John Kill Buck, Junior, and Capt. Pipe, Deputies and Chief Men of the Delaware Nation of the other Part.

ARTICLE I. That all offences or acts of hostilities by one, or either of the contracting parties against the other, be mutually forgiven, and buried in the depth of oblivion, never more to be had in remembrance.

ARTICLE II. That a perpetual peace and friendship shall from henceforth take place, and subsist between the contracting parties aforesaid, through all succeeding generations: and if either of the parties are engaged in a just and necessary war with any other nation or nations, that then each shall assist the other in due proportion to their abilities, till their enemies are brought to reasonable terms of accommodation: and that if either of them shall discover any hostile designs forming against the other, they shall give the earliest notice thereof, that timeous measures may be taken to prevent their ill effect.

ARTICLE III. And whereas the United States are engaged in a just and necessary war, in defence and support of life, liberty and independence, against the King of England and his adherents, and as said King is yet possessed of several posts and forts on the lakes and other places, the reduction of which is of great importance to the peace and security of the contracting parties, and as the most practicable way for the troops of the United States to some of the posts and forts is by passing through the country of the Delaware nation, the aforesaid deputies, on behalf of themselves and their nation, do hereby stipulate and agree to give a free passage through their country to the troops aforesaid, and the same to conduct by the nearest and best ways to the posts, forts or towns of the enemies of the United States, affording to said troops such supplies of corn, meat, horses, or whatever may be in their power for the accommodation of such troops, on the commanding officer's, &c. paying, or engageing to pay, the full value of whatever they can supply them with. And the said deputies, on the behalf of their nation, engage to join the troops of the United States aforesaid, with such a number of their best and most expert warriors as they can spare, consistent with their own safety, and act in concert with them; and for the better security of the old men, women and children of the aforesaid nation, whilst their warriors are engaged against the common enemy, it is agreed on the part of the United States, that a fort of sufficient strength and capacity be built at the expense of the said States, with such assistance as it may be in the power of the said Delaware Nation to give, in the most convenient place, and advantageous situation, as shall be agreed on by the commanding officer of the troops aforesaid, with the advice and concurrence of the deputies of the aforesaid Delaware Nation, which fort shall be garrisoned by such a number of the troops of the United States, as the commanding officer can spare for the present, and hereafter by such numbers, as the wise men of the United States in council, shall think most conducive to the common good.

In 1823, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the first of three cases of key Federal Indian law that affirmed tribal sovereignty and established doctrine of Federal trust responsibility. These laws are known as the Marshall Trilogy and are the foundation for current judicial decisions involving the powers of tribes. Summaries of these cases follow.

Johnson v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat) 543 (1823)
This case involved competing claims to the same lands acquired from the same Indian tribe by different means. The court ruled that Indian nations could only convey ownership to the United States and not individuals. This approach restrained encroachment not authorized by the United States into Indian territories and confirmed Federal control of Indian affairs.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1 (1831)
The Cherokee Nation challenged the legality of the State of Georgia to oust the Cherokee Nation from its lands in spite of its treaty with the United States. Judge Marshall ruled that the Cherokee Tribe is a "domestic dependent nation" with the relation of the tribe to the Federal Government like that of "ward to guardian." Therefore, the State could not interfere with the Cherokee Nation.  (The State of Georgia did not follow the ruling and continued to interfere in the rights of the Cherokee Nation).

Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832)
Missionaries to the Cherokee Nation appealed their conviction in Georgian courts for not having received a license from the Governor of Georgia to enter Cherokee country. Judge Marshall ruled the conviction by the State was void because the tribe was a distinct community over which the laws of the State have no force.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), one of the oldest bureaus in the Federal government, was administratively established by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun on March 11, 1824, as an agency within the War Department to oversee and carry out the Federal government's trade and treaty relations with the tribes. Congress gave the BIA statutory authority by the act of July 9, 1832 (4 Stat. 564, chap. 174).

The BIA was originally created to manage the affairs of the tribes in fulfillment of the Federal Government's self-determined role as having power over Indian affairs. The BIA mission has changed dramatically over time from the direct provider of services to that of technical specialist working with tribal managers in protecting and managing trust resources.

You have just completed the Colonial Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

As the U.S. population continued to grow and the demand for land on the east coast increased, the U.S. Government forced eastern tribes to move west.

The Indian Removal Act was signed by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830 to initiate the removal of tribes in the southeastern states.  In 1835, nearly all of the Cherokee Nation - some 17,000 people - were forced to leave their ancestral lands, homes, and possessions at gunpoint and forced to march from northern Georgia to present-day Oklahoma. The Trail of Tears, as it is known, killed over 4,000 Cherokee.  The Muscogee Creek, Choctaw and Chickasaw and many other tribes were also moved west without consent. 

Nearly all the eastern tribes were moved from fertile soil to the semiarid center of the country-known at the time as the Great American Desert. Consequently, today there are only a few tribes located on the east coast.

The removal policy gave way in the 1850s to an official policy of confining Indians to reservations rather than relocating them beyond the rapidly expanding frontier.

Throughout this period, hundreds of treaties were made. Many of them were made with tribes in the Northern Plains for their lands, thus restricting reservation boundaries even further.

Some of these treaties contained provisions for the tribes to retain hunting, fishing, and gathering rights on the ceded lands. These treaty rights are still valid and must be considered when carrying out the provisions of programs.

Unfortunately, some of the treaties were never ratified, and some were put in place through bribery or by only a small part of the signatory tribes. Additionally, the Federal Government failed to fulfill the terms of many treaties, and was sometimes unable or unwilling to prevent States, or white people, from violating treaty rights of Indians.

By 1871, treatymaking came to an end. The treaties were replaced with agreements that the Executive Branch negotiated and the Congress enacted into law. The move was mostly symbolic and ushered in the beginning of the next era.

You have just completed the Removal and Relocation Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

During this period:

• More Indian lands were taken for settlement by the United States.
• Federal law expanded into internal tribal affairs.
• Widespread use of boarding schools for Indian children developed.
• Reserved tribal lands were allotted to individual Indian ownership.

The General Allotment Act (Dawes Act) sought to assimilate tribes by breaking up the ownership of the land and integrating tribal people into the Nation, with, or without consent. Specifically, the act:

• Enabled the President to allot small parcels of tribal lands to individual Indians.
• Authorized the Federal Government to hold land in trust for 25 years or more to prevent transfer of the land.
• Authorized the United States to sell lands left after allotment.
• Subjected allottees to State civil and criminal jurisdiction.
• Extended U.S. citizenship to allottees.

Under the original act, heads of household and minors received 160 and 40 acres respectively, with the intent of making Indians into farmers in the white man's image. This was soon changed to reduce the amount of acreage.

Under the Dawes Act, Indian life deteriorated in a manner not anticipated by its sponsors:

• The social structure of the tribe was weakened
• Many nomadic Indians were unable to adjust to an agricultural existence
• Others were swindled out of their property
• Life on the reservation came to be characterized by disease, filth, poverty, and despondency

Of the 138 million acres of Indian or tribal lands in 1887, only 48 million acres remained by 1934.

Most of the loss resulted from what was called surplus land-i.e., whatever land remained after allotments were made to Indian households, Some of the surplus lands were sold and payments made to the tribes while others were simply opened for homesteading.

Though the Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, granted all U.S. citizens the right to vote regardless of race, it wasn't until Congress passed the Snyder Act of 1924 that Native Americans could enjoy the rights granted by this 1870 Amendment.

The Snyder Act granted Indigenous Americans born in the U.S. full U.S. citizenship. This was due in large part because of the services Indian soldiers performed during World War I and significant lobbying efforts on behalf of Indians.

The Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period came to a close as a result of a Government-requested study (the Merriam Report) that deemed the policies of this period a failure.  

You have just completed the Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

This short but progressive period ended allotments and began restoring Indian lands. The Federal Government created programs and projects for health facilities, irrigation works, roads, homes, and schools to help restore Indian economic and cultural life.

The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), sometimes called the "Indian New Deal," was the centerpiece of this era.

The IRA - also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act - was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 18, 1934. The IRA attempted to improve the political, economic, and social conditions of American Indians in a number of ways:

• Privatization was terminated
• Some of the land taken was returned and new land could be purchased with federal funds
• A policy of tribal self-government was implemented
• Tribes were allowed to incorporate businesses and credit established to further such business
• Education & employment opportunities were greatly enhanced

While there were some problems with the law (particularly in its implementation), it showed some significant successes.

Instead of forcing Indian people to forsake their traditions for new lives on farms or in cities, the IRA recognized their right to exist as a separate culture.

The act included the establishment of chartered tribal governments with constitutions and bylaws based on a template of the Federal Government which was fashioned after the Iroquois Confederacy.

This period was the first time in American Indian history that tribal councils were formally recognized as having nation to nation status with the Federal Government.

You have just completed the Reorganization Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

Termination ended what the Government previously endorsed:

• Trust relationships between Federal and tribal governments.
• Self-government of the tribes.

The Government would essentially violate all previous treaties in the interest of seizing land and resources in the interest of the country, as a whole.

More than 100 tribes were terminated during this period. The Federal Government no longer recognized them as Indian nations and ended Federal supervision and control over Indians as well as any assistance.

During this period, tribes lost their governmental authority.  With the passage of Public Law 280 in 1953, State criminal and civil laws were imposed on many tribes in California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin. These policies ended in economic disaster and resulted in the loss of millions of acres of valuable land and natural resource through tax forfeiture sales.

Federal policy during this period emphasized the physical relocation of Indians from reservations to urban areas. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs started a relocation program that granted money to Indians to move to selected cities to find work.  This was another attempt to absorb Indians into mainstream society, thereby eliminating distinct cultures and disconnecting Native people from their heritage.  

Recall that with the passage of the Snyder Act in 1924, the Indigenous People of America were finally recognized as being “American.” In spite of that formal recognition, Native Americans were still prevented from participating in elections because the U.S. Constitution left it up to the states to decide who has the right to vote.  After the passage of the 1924 Citizenship Bill, it still took over forty years for all fifty states to allow Native Americans to vote.

In 1948, the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a provision of its state constitution that kept Indians from voting. Other states eventually followed suit, concluding with New Mexico in 1962, the last state to enfranchise Native Americans.

Even with the lawful right to vote in every state, Native Americans suffered from the same mechanisms and strategies, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, fraud and intimidation that kept African Americans from exercising that right.

The effects of the Termination and Relocation Period can still be seen.  Today, an estimated 78% of Native Americans live off-reservation, and while statistical analysis of exact figures can be debated, a very large portion of Native people live in urban or suburban environments.

You have just completed the Termination and Relocation Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

The abuses of the Termination and Relocation Period led to reforms. The Federal Government expanded the powers of tribal self-government and restored the recognition of tribes.

In a special message to Congress, President Lyndon B. Johnson stated his principles for tribal relations, which those who have followed him continue to support:

"The greatest hope for Indian progress lies in the emergence of Indian leadership and initiative in solving Indian problems. And we must assure the Indian people that it is our desire and intention that the special relationship between the Indian and his government grow and flourish. For the first among us must not be the last."

The Self-Determination Period saw many important legislative changes to improve the lives of Indigenous Peoples.

In 1965, with passage of the Voting Rights Act and subsequent legislation in 1970, 1975, and 1982, many other voting protections for Native Americans were reaffirmed and strengthened.

Other important legislation during this period includes the following:

• Indian Civil Rights Act - 1968: Establishes civil rights for all people under tribal government jurisdiction and authorizes the Federal Government to enforce these rights.
• Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act - 1975: Recognizes the Federal trust responsibility and directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Services to contract with the tribes for programs that these agencies administer such as education, health, and human services.
• American Indian Religious Freedom Act - 1978: Preserves the rights of American Indians to practice traditional religious beliefs.
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act - 1990: Requires notification and return of human remains and cultural items to Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Also regulates the excavation of federal and tribal land where remains or items may be discovered.

On November 6, 2000, President William J. Clinton signed Executive Order (EO) 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments. The intent of this Executive Order is:

• To establish regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have tribal implications
• To strengthen the United States government-to-government relationships with Indian tribes
• To reduce the imposition of unfunded mandates upon Indian tribes

Under E.O. 13175, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, any federal agency proposing rules, policy or guidance that have impacts on federally recognized tribal governments may not promulgate those rules, policy or guidance unless the agency meets certain conditions and engages in consultation with tribal governments before they become effective.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements for implementing EO13175 required all Federal agencies to appoint an agency consultation official responsible for ensuring that program personnel adhere to the intent of the Order in policymaking and facilitate meaningful consultation with tribal governments concerning the development, administration and enforcement of policy, guidance or regulation that has impacts on tribal governments.

Click on Executive Order 13175 for more information. 

To further strengthen the Government-to-Government relationships with tribes, President Barack Obama signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 16, 2009, directing all cabinet agencies to submit a plan within 90 days to show how they will implement the original EO13175 in order to establish regular and meaningful tribal consultation and collaboration.

DHS issued its first EO13175 implementation Plan in February of 2010 and as a component agency of DHS, FEMA provides regular reporting on it activities to support implementation of EO13175.

To further support EO13175, FEMA adopted its first Tribal Consultation Policy in 2014 that established a process to guide FEMA officials on how to engage Indian tribes and Tribal officials in regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration on actions that have tribal implications.

Both the FEMA Tribal Policy and Tribal Consultation Policy are updated every four years.

Click on FEMA's Tribal Policies for more information.

Federal agencies have acknowledged their support for the independence and government-to-government relationships with the tribes through policy statements and removal of barriers to participation in national programs.

FEMA's first tribal policy became effective in 1998 and established how FEMA operates with regard to tribal governments and outlines a framework for nation-to-nation relations with tribal governments that recognizes tribal sovereignty, self-governance, and FEMA’s trust responsibility that is consistent with applicable authorities.

Click on this link to review a key excerpt of the policy. 

The most recent legislation with significant impact for FEMA and its work with tribal governments is the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act (SRIA).

Signed by President Barack Obama on January 29, 2013, SRIA amended the Stafford Act with a stated goal of improving the efficiency and quality of disaster assistance provided by FEMA.

Among the provisions of SRIA, Section 1110 authorizes the chief executive of a Federally Recognized Tribal Government to directly request emergency or major disaster declarations from the President, much as a governor can for a state.

In many ways, the passage of SRIA represents the most significant legislative change to FEMA’s substantive authorities since the enactment of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in 1988 which of course gave FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide disaster relief efforts.

This change appropriately acknowledges and operationalizes the Government-to-Government relationship that FEMA has with Federally Recognized Tribes and provides tribal governments the option to be a sub-recipient of disaster assistance under a state-requested disaster or emergency declaration, or to be a direct recipient of assistance. This also presents FEMA with new opportunities to further engage and build partnerships with tribal governments to build emergency management capacity and capabilities.

You have just completed the Self-Determination Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

Before proceeding to the next lesson, you may want to review the following resources:

• American Indian and Alaska Native Data and Links
• Bureau of Indian Affairs Frequently Asked Questions
• Indian Law: An Overview
• Working Effectively with Federally-Recognized Indian Tribes. Environmental Protection Agency. Call for a copy: (202) 260-2516.
• From the National Congress of American Indians, see Tribal Nations and the United States: An Introduction. 

Now that you've completed this lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify periods of history and the related Federal Government policy toward Indian tribes.
• Describe the importance of sovereign nation status and the current government-to-government relationships.

In the next lesson, you will learn basic facts about tribal cultures, and positive ways to communicate with tribal people.

Upon completion of this lesson, you should be able to identify some of the more common cultural aspects of tribal governments.

Despite past hardships and upheavals, tribal traditions and values endure. Knowing something about tribal cultures can open the way for positive relations with Indian people.

Audio Transcript

Narrator: Tribal people are bound together by shared traditions and values.

Julie Bator, Elected Official, Alaska Native Village of Tazlina: "I think we have the ability to overcome, adapt, and survive. And it's been demonstrated on every level for 4,000 years."

Narrator: Each tribe is different, with a unique history and culture.

Tim Sanders, Emergency Manager, Gila River Indian Community: "The worst thing to do would be to go in there with preconceived notions of what Indian people are."

Narrator: Stereotypes of Native Americans interfere with positive relations. There are even times when non-natives unintentionally insult Native Americans. For example . . .

Julie Bator: "I think assuming that all Alaskan Indians are alcoholics, that we all have limited educations and limited thinking capacities. It's really ignorant to assume ignorance."

Bernice Lalo, Elected Official, Western Shoshone: "One of the things we need to know about Indian life is that we have a history, and we have songs, we have dances, we have fine arts, we have literature, we have scientists, we have botanists, we have medical people."

Lawrence Lucero, Elected Official, Isleta Pueblo: "We do expect you to be sensitive and respectful for who we are as a people, and that you recognize the fact that we're a sovereign nation with its own form of government, and that you recognize the fact that we are a unique people in our own ways."

Narrator: Positive relationships begin with understanding. This lesson is designed to help you expand your understanding of tribal cultures.

If asked, tribal people will explain how they want to be addressed. Most prefer use of a specific tribal name.

Bernice Lalo, Elected Official, Western Shoshone

We were termed as "Indians." And I've never been an Indian in all of my life. I don't come from east India; I don't speak their language. However, I do speak Shoshone and we have a Shoshone nation, and those are—tribal people, we're indigenous from the land.

And I can't speak for other people, but I—if you were to describe me, I would be a Western Shoshone. Because I am a citizen of my own nation.

Julie Bator, Elected Official, Alaska Native Village of Tazlina

I guess the politically correct term is Alaska Native Indians. And one thing I would want people to know is that Alaskans, Alaskan Indians are not Eskimos. And that is something that if you were to learn about cultural sensitivity, it would be an important point for you to open a door.

If you wanted to continue your conversation with someone in our area and you called them an Eskimo, you would be sent out the door. And that would be the end of the conversation.

Lawrence Lucero, Elected Official, Isleta Pueblo

First of all, people need to recognize that we are first of all Pueblo and not just Indians. We also like to be recognized as Native American, and we're specifically Pueblo Indian. And that only pertains to our tribe, which is Pueblo.

So the preferred term is Native American or Pueblo Indian and not just Indian.

The family holds a central place in all tribal cultures.

• Tribal families treat distant clan members as close relatives.
• Family needs outweigh other concerns and commitments.

Tribal communities show great respect for the wisdom of their elders by:

• Addressing them first in group settings.
• Consulting them about how to proceed.

Younger tribal members interpret as needed for elders with limited English.

If you are in a position or setting to engage tribal family members, be respectful in the same manner. Acknowledge any elder present, first.  Allow for interpretations, if necessary.

Bernice Lalo, Elected Official, Western Shoshone

I have three brothers and three sisters, and I'm the fifth one down the road, and I have a younger sister. We were charged with getting water from the stream, by dippers, and filling up a great wooden barrel in our kitchen.

As we grew a little bit older and could handle machinery and could handle horses or work horses, we were given responsibility according to our age group.

My father said that we could do whatever we wanted to do or could do or could challenge, as long as we were waiting for whatever came afterwards, either the praise or the licks, as he would call it.

Julie Bator, Elected Official, Alaska Native Village of Tazlina

We take on the clan of our mothers, our grandmothers. Material goods are passed down, hunting territories are passed down through our mothers' line.

We respect our elders, which is something I'm really proud of and something I try to instill in my children, that they are valuable resources and the reason that we are still alive.

Tribal people carefully consider responses when answering questions and making decisions. Therefore, when working with tribal people, plan to double or triple the amount of time you would ordinarily expect to spend.

Also keep in mind that:

• A rushed and impersonal manner may shut off conversation.
• Information often is shared by telling a story.
• Tribal people consider it an insult to provide information you may already know; as a result, they can appear reluctant to answer a question or volunteer information.

Tim Sanders, Emergency Manager, Gila River Indian Community

Indians will typically approach things in a very deliberate manner. You've heard that old cliché about ask someone for the time, they'll tell you how to build a clock? A lot of times that will happen when you're speaking with tribal officials, elders in particular. And it's important that you respect that and not try to rush that conversation along, not try to get to the endpoint.

Julie Bator, Elected Official, Alaska Native Village of Tazlina

You might have to listen for a few minutes before you get your answer, and it might seem a story that doesn't relate to what you're talking about, but if they want you to think about things and come to your own conclusion, then it's part of our way not to tell you what to do. It's not right to tell another what to do.

Our elders aren't comfortable speaking to non-natives, a lot times you won't get the stories from them, and consequently they appear not to know what they're talking about or doing. And just because they're quieter or don't know how to say things in the English way doesn't mean that they don't have the knowledge or that they don't deserve your respect.

Most tribal cultures value hospitality, and may expect visitors to share food and drink.

Tim Sanders, Emergency Manager, Gila River Indian Community

They will really welcome you into their family, into their homes, try their best to make you feel at home.

Julie Bator, Elected Official, Alaska Native Village of Tazlina

They're going to be glad to see you, and they're going to ask you to come in, and they're going to try to feed you for about 2 hours. You need to respect that and eat it, at least a little of it. Drink some tea and have some hardtack or some cake or something. And they're going to try to keep you there. If you eat, you get your facts, and you can leave. But it's disrespectful to not—they consider it a trade. So you're going to be made to sit down.

In the United States, there are about 600 distinct tribal languages belonging to more than 10 language families. The ability to speak one's language is highly prized.

Bernice Lalo, Elected Official, Western Shoshone

We spoke English, we spoke Shoshone at the same time we learned to tie our shoes, and it was no different except finding the difference in who would answer you if you spoke Shoshone or English.

I've developed grants for the tax structure for my tribe, a library for my tribe, an environmental camp for young people, Shoshone native language for youth.

Lawrence Lucero, Elected Official, Isleta Pueblo

Isleta is only one of 19 Pueblos. All other Pueblos speak a different dialect; the dialect that Isleta Pueblos speak with is the Tiwa language.

The reason I bring up Tiwa is that's our first language, at least it was and it has been for many of our youth that are growing up. And this dialect is not written; it's learned through oral teaching and learning.

Religious traditions endure among tribal people. Expressions of spiritual life include:

• Dancing, singing, and chanting.
• Showing reverence by actions such as drinking water, burning sweet grass, taking a sweat bath, or fasting.
• Gathering for ceremonies in certain locations at specific times.
• Treating burial grounds and other traditional sites as sacred.

The circle carries special meaning for tribal people. The circle represents the never-ending circle of life and acknowledges many cycles present in the natural environment.

Click on this link to read the story of the circle, about the significance of circles in tribal life.

Historically, Indigenous peoples all over the world had an understanding and reverence for the natural world. The Indigenous Americans traditionally viewed themselves as a connected part of the landscape and their various cultures continue to reflect this tradition. It’s important to understand the concept of “owning” property does not necessarily integrate well with tribal cultures and because of this:

• Legal documentation about land “ownership” may be missing or not well documented.
• Tribal members may share use of the land.
• Views on what actions and activities that impact the landscape are “appropriate” may differ (sometimes significantly) from what FEMA or other federal programs recommend.

Today’s tribal members and their communities are faced with finding balance between their traditional cultures and the ways of the current world. This need for cultural balance will impact interactions and activities as FEMA staff collaborate and coordinate with tribal partners in developing emergency management capabilities and improving community resilience.

Before proceeding to the next lesson, you may want to review the following Web link:

• National Museum of the American Indian

Now that you've completed this lesson, you should be able to identify some of the more common cultural aspects of tribal governments.

Upon completion of this lesson you should be able to identify some best practices for preparing to meet with tribal governments to discuss FEMA programs.

Click on this link to access a description of the disaster declaration process.

None of the affected tribes has received Federal disaster assistance before, so all of the tribes are unfamiliar with Federal assistance programs and how these work. Each tribe may have a different leadership structure and protocol for contacting and dealing with the leadership.

Audio Transcript

The President just issued a disaster declaration for 15 counties. Rising floodwaters are delaying Preliminary Damage Assessments, or PDAs, that usually take place before a disaster declaration. Five Indian reservations lie in the declared area.

The joint Federal-State PDA team has begun contacting local governments to collect damage information. The affected tribes lack resources to support emergency management programs, and have never received Federal disaster assistance. Currently, no tribal damage information is being captured in PDA data.

As they prepare to deploy to the Disaster Field Office, FEMA staff discuss plans to visit affected reservations and begin the disaster assistance process.

In this lesson, you will learn about making initial contacts with tribes and explaining disaster assistance and other Federal programs.

It’s important to remember the disaster declaration process and programs are new to most tribal governments, many of which have limited emergency management resources. The “state-centric” nature of legislation authorizing FEMA programs will likely result in new complexities for both the tribal governments and FEMA in providing disaster assistance in Indian Country.

As we’ve seen in previous Lessons, tribal governments have distinct cultures and governance structures. They may also face significant resource challenges under daily conditions and will therefore need extra assistance during disaster response and recovery.

In addition, classification of tribal land is more complex and some Federally Recognized tribal lands straddle state borders, and sometimes even international borders. 

Not all tribes have “reservations” – there are over 570 federally recognized tribes, but only 326 Indian land areas in the U.S. administered as federal Indian reservations. This means that not all tribes that request a disaster declaration have a clear community border defined for implementation of disaster programs. The names of these tribal communities can vary – reservations, pueblos, rancherias, missions, villages, or communities are the most common terms. These lands range in size from the 17 million-acre Navajo Nation Reservation located in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah to a 1.32-acre parcel in California where the Pit River Tribe’s cemetery is located. Many of the smaller reservations are less than 1,000 acres.

It will be important to explain all the options that are available so tribal governments can make the best decisions for recovery program funding.

It will also be important to carefully help tribal governments understand the potential benefits and drawbacks of deciding to request a direct declaration or become a sub-recipient under a State declaration for any of the available programs and help them maximize disaster relief funding available to help them make their communities more resilient.

All of these factors will impact the success of providing assistance in both the pre- and post-disaster environment.

Ideally tribes should have emergency operations plans in place to guide response operations when something happens. Tribes also could be included in emergency management networks with local, State, and Federal partners where those relationships exist.

However, many tribal governments currently lack emergency management resources and training. To help build emergency management capability:

• Tribal representatives can take emergency management courses, including Incident Command System (ICS) courses and the EMI Tribal Curriculum - a series of five (5) classroom courses designed specifically for tribal governments to help them build and improve emergency management capabilities.
• Tribal representatives can also contact the FEMA Regional Tribal Liaison to inquire about any technical assistance or FEMA programs available to develop emergency operations, Continuity of Operations or Hazard Mitigation plans, participation in programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), conduct a hazard identification and risk assessment, and possibly help identify funding and technical assistance needed to develop their ability to carry out preparedness, response, hazard mitigation and recovery operations and functions for more community resilience.

Tribal governments are prepared for disasters.

Tim Sanders, Emergency Manager, Gila River Indian Community

Tribal government does take their responsibility to their members very, very seriously. Our program at Gila River is set up so that we provide individual and family assistance on a routine basis for these emergency situations, so we'll actually fund repairs to homes, put people up in temporary housing and things like that. We take care of the individuals and families and we take care of the tribal infrastructure.

Lawrence Lucero, Elected Official, Isleta Pueblo

And I would hope that funding for planning would be made available and providing technical assistance to tribes so that the Federal Government, which is FEMA, could also fulfill that part of their trust responsibility to making sure that tribes are prepared for disasters in the event that they were to occur.

A condition of Federal assistance is that a tribe must be federally recognized. The tribal status needs to be determined before initial contacts are made.

Each FEMA Region has at least one Regional Tribal Liaison who can provide information needed on tribal federal recognition and other information on tribes in their region. 

Click on the Tribal Contacts link to view a list of the Tribal Liaisons. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) list records recognized tribes, and updates the list regularly. Listed tribes are:

• Granted status as sovereign nations.
• Included in the U.S. Government Federal trust responsibility.

Click on this link to access more information about Federal recognition and trust responsibility.

Tribes determine how to organize their governments and they also determine who  can be a member of their Tribe.   Do not assume someone is or is not a Native American based on appearance. A Native American is someone who:

• Has a quantum, or percentage of Indian blood set by an individual tribe as the criterion for membership;
• Can track their history to a certain time frame; or,
• Is recognized by that tribe as a member by other criterion.

If you have Native American ancestry, remember that ancestry alone does not make you a tribal member. Therefore, avoid reference to your heritage when representing your agency unless asked by a Tribal member.

While the tribal leadership has authority over what decisions the tribe will make regarding FEMA programs, your first contact with the tribe will likely be with the tribe’s designated emergency manager or response personnel.

To prepare for your first meeting:

• Contact the FEMA Regional Tribal Liaison, FEMA National Tribal Affairs Advisor, or others experienced in working with tribes and ask for help arranging the meeting. These resources can also help with questions about tribal protocol.
• Review information about the tribe. Tribal Web sites describe tribes and identify current leaders. Many tribes have publications that they are pleased to share upon request.
• Respect tribal protocol. Every tribe has a procedure for contacting and arranging meetings with tribal officials.

Elected tribal leaders may make all significant decisions for tribes at face value, however there may be other considerations that will not be discussed with those outside of the Tribe. Factors to remember when discussing issues or proposals with the leadership are:

• Respect for tribal sovereignty is the key to successful relations.
• Council resolutions are the means used to establish emergency management programs and authorize actions related to disaster assistance, hazard mitigation, and other programs.
• Tribal lawyers attend most council meetings, and can advise on resolutions and other legal matters.
• Meetings of tribal governing bodies proceed deliberately and address issues that may have higher priority to the tribe than emergency management or disaster matters.
• Tribes work on their own timetable. It is important for tribes to get to know you before doing business with you. This can result in the extension of normal deadlines.
• Elected officials may also seek consultation with tribal elders before entering any agreement or passing resolutions.  This affords the officials the opportunity to obtain historical information that may not be available in tribal written archives.

It's important to remember that the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 amended the Stafford Act to give federally recognized tribes the option to either be included in a state request for disaster declaration or go directly to FEMA and the President to request disaster declaration.

Tribes will likely need information about the declaration process, types of assistance available, and how to apply for disaster assistance either under a state declaration request or a request directly to FEMA and the President.

Working with the Regional Tribal Liaison will be critical at this point to ensure that you:

• Explain that as a Federal employee, you cannot go beyond the authority granted you by your agency and the law.
• Assure the tribal leadership that all programs and assistance will be delivered to the full extent possible, and that after there is a declaration, FEMA will communicate with the tribe on a government-to-government basis.

Tribal officials need to understand what disaster assistance can and cannot do. Be sure to make the following points when explaining disaster assistance:

• Disaster assistance is limited to repairing damage from this event only. Pre-existing damage is not eligible.
• Facilities owned by other Federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs, will not be eligible for repair or replacement. An exception to this is that roads owned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are eligible for disaster assistance. 
• The tribe will be responsible for proper grant administration and management to meet their legal requirements as a grant recipient or sub-recipient under the Stafford Act.

Explanation and discussion of all disaster assistance expectations will be key to the successful implementation to help the tribe make sound and informed decisions that will impact the current and future disaster recovery efforts.

Before proceeding to the next lesson, you may want to review the following Web links:

• FEMA's Tribal Web site
• American Indian and Alaska Native Data and Links
• Tribal Directory
• Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
• Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013

Increase your knowledge by reading books and materials about Indian people and their culture. Suggestions:

1. Adams, David Wallace. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928. Univ Pr of Kansas, October 30, 1995.
2. Beall, Merrill D. I Will Fight No More Forever: Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War. University of Washington Press, 1963.
3. Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 1970.
4. Canby, William C. American Indian Law in a Nutshell. West Group, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1998.
5. Clifton, James A. Being and Becoming Indian. The Dorsey Press, Chicago, 1989.
6. Deloria, Vine, Jr. Custer Died For Your Sins. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman and London, 1969.
7. Dooling, D.M., and Paul Jordon-Smith (editors). I Become Part of It: Sacred Dimensions in Native American Life. Parabola Books, New York, 1989.
8. Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (ReVisioning American History). Beacon Press, August 11, 2015.
9. Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. All the Real Indians Died Off and 20 Other Myths about Native Americans. Beacon Press, October 4, 2016.
10. Eastman, Charles Alexander. The Soul of an Indian. The Classic Wisdom Collection, New World Library, San Rafael, California, 1993.
11. Echo-Hawk, Walter. In the Courts of the Conqueror: The 10 Worst Indian Law Cases Ever Decided. Fulcrum Publishing, July 1, 2012. 
12. Erdoes, Richards, and Alfonso Ortiz (editors). American Indian Myths and Legends. Pantheon Books, New York, 1984.
13. Fleming, Walter C. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Native American History. ALPHA; 1 edition (April 1, 2003)
14. Hultkrnatz, Ake. Native Religions of North America. Harper and Row, San Francisco, 1987.
15. Keown, Larry D. Working in Indian Country: Building Successful Business Relationships with American Indian Tribes. Banyan Tree Press, October 29, 2010.
16. Lincoln, Kenneth. The Good Red Road. Harper and Row Publishers, San Francisco, 1987.
17. Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1959.
18. Neihardt, John G. Twilight of the Sioux. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1971.
19. Padden, R.C. Hummingbird and the Hawk.
20. Pevar, Stephen L. The Rights of Indians and Tribes: The Authoritative ACLU Guide to Indian and Tribal Rights. Southern Illinois University Press, November 1, 1991.
21. Ross, A.C. Mitakuye Oyasin: We Are All Related. Bear Press, 1990.
22. Russell, George. American Indian Facts of Life: A Profile of Today's Population, Tribes and Reservations. Phoenix, AZ, Native Data Network, 2004.
23. Sale, Kirkpatrick. The Conquest of Paradise. Knoph Press, New York, 1990.
24. Treuer, Anton. Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask. Borealis Books, May 1, 2012.
25. Weatherford, Jack. Indian Givers: How the Indians Transformed the World. Fawcett Columbine, New York, 1988.
26. Weatherford, Jack. Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America. Fawcett Columbine, New York, 1991.
27. Wilkinson, Charles. Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 2005.
28. Wolfson, Evelyn. Growing Up Indian. Walker and Company, New York, 1986.

Now that you've completed this lesson, you should be able to identify some best practices for preparing to meet with tribal governments to discuss FEMA programs.

In the next lesson, you will learn about issues related to delivering Individual Assistance programs to tribal communities.

Upon completion of this lesson you should be able to:

• Identify best practices for preparing to deliver Individual Assistance programs to tribal communities.
• Identify potential Individual Assistance issues and possible solutions when working with tribal governments.

Click on this link to access a description of Individual Assistance programs.

Following the Roaring River flood, Individual Assistance staff members face problems such as assuring that tribal people apply for assistance, determining home ownership for housing assistance, and reminding inspectors and other disaster workers to follow tribal protocol.

Individual Assistance Issues: Scenario

Spreading the Individual Assistance message on Indian reservations poses a challenge. Some people live in isolated areas on dirt roads with no addresses. Many lack access to telephones. Two weeks after the declaration, no members of one affected tribe have applied for assistance.

Many people with housing damage report that they own their homes, but the tribe may be the actual owner. Tribal representatives have complained that housing inspectors didn't ask permission to enter tribal lands.

Individual Assistance staff members need to overcome these and other obstacles to deliver Individual Assistance to the affected tribal communities.

This lesson explores steps needed to make sure that all eligible tribal community members apply for and receive Individual Assistance.

As you have just seen, the Individual Assistance staff faces challenges delivering programs to tribal governments. Challenges may include:

• Lack of familiarity of tribal leadership with FEMA's Individual Assistance programs. 
• Reluctance to rely on Government assistance – tribal people will often want to rely on family or friends rather than someone from the outside.
• Isolation caused by distance, lack of telephones, and lack of transportation that hampers communication.
• Difficulty determining home ownership.
• The need for all disaster staff to know and observe tribal protocol and cultural issues.

A big challenge for Individual Assistance is getting FEMA's message to eligible tribal applicants. Possible explanations for this difficulty include the following:

• Tribal leaders may not be familiar with basic program information needed to lend their support to FEMA's efforts.
• Usual media outlets do not reach many in the community, who instead rely on tribal newspapers and radio stations.
• The area may be rural and require house-to-house contacts.

Even after the message is spread throughout the community, the following factors may prevent some individuals from applying:

• Some people may not trust the Government and will not apply for assistance.
• People without access to telephones cannot call the National Processing Service Centers (NPSCs).
• Limited or no access to the Internet or computer resources can hamper individual registration.
• Language barriers may prevent some from applying.
• The elderly may require special help.
• Multiple families may reside in the same dwelling and not realize that each family needs to file an application.

Tribal governments should be asked how they want housing inspections conducted. Points to cover include:

• The protocol that inspectors should follow to get permission to enter tribal lands.
• Whether or not it’s more appropriate to have a tribal representative accompany the FEMA inspectors.
• If there is a joint inspection team that includes State and Federal inspectors, the inclusion of State personnel must be coordinated prior to entering tribal land. 

Protocols will vary based on the tribe. These should be worked out before any inspections occur.

After determining the tribes' preferences on conducting inspections, Individual Assistance staff should inform the housing inspectors about tribal protocols early in the process, during contract briefings. Problems can be avoided or reduced if:

• Inspectors know the requirements from the outset.
• All inspectors receive consistent information.

A Tribal Housing Authority representative or other designated tribal representative should be contacted to help resolve questions about home ownership and obtain needed documentation.

The different amounts of grant assistance available from FEMA to repair housing can be an issue. For example:

• Public Assistance (PA) funds can be used to restore tribally owned, uninsured housing to pre-disaster conditions.
• Individual Assistance (IA) funds are limited to making individually owned housing safe, sanitary, and fit to occupy.

Explaining the cost-share requirement with PA funds will help reduce concerns about inequities.

Click on this link to access advice on providing assistance for tribal housing.

The tribe's relationship with the State will likely affect the decision to be a grant recipient or sub-recipient for Individual Assistance programs under a declaration request. Potential issues may include:

• Some states do not or cannot legally pay the Other Needs Assistance (ONA) cost-share for tribal applicants.
• The State's mental health agency, which delivers the Crisis Counseling program, may not serve tribal governments or is unable to accommodate culturally specific needs for the tribe and its members.

If the tribe is requesting grant recipient status for Individual Assistance, they may have signed ONA forms and do not need to utilize the State for ONA.

Also, culturally significant items found in tribal members' homes may be part of the Tribe's ONA form.

More information about other Individual Assistance Programs.

Before proceeding to the next lesson, you may want to review additional information available at the following links:

• Individual Assistance information on the FEMA Web site.
• DisasterAssistance.gov provides information on disaster assistance from the U.S. Government before, during and after a disaster.

Now that you've completed this lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify best practices for preparing to deliver Individual Assistance programs to tribal communities.
• Identify potential Individual Assistance issues and possible solutions when working with tribal governments.

In the next lesson, you will learn more about how the Public Assistance program coordinates with tribal governments.

Upon completion of this lesson you should be able to:

• Identify best practices for preparing to deliver Public Assistance programs to tribal communities.
• Identify potential Public Assistance issues and possible solutions when working with tribal governments.

Click on this link to access a description of Public Assistance programs.

The Public Assistance staff is working to get tribes involved in the program. Questions surround ownership of roads, housing, and other public facilities. Several sacred sites lie in the affected area.

Audio Transcript

Public Assistance Issues: Scenario

The State has begun conducting Applicants' Briefings, but scheduled none near tribal areas.

The tribe, the county, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or another Federal agency may own public facilities such as roads and schools. Knowing ownership is crucial. Public Assistance cannot duplicate assistance or pay for repairs that are the responsibility of another Federal agency.

Tribes may have difficulty with the non-Federal share and meeting other grant requirements.

The affected area features many tribal sacred sites.

Public Assistance staff members are gathering information on potential issues as they prepare to meet with tribal leaders.

In this lesson, you'll learn more about the issues related to delivering Public Assistance to tribal communities.

The Public Assistance staff must be ready to deal with likely issues in delivering the program to tribal governments. Possible issues are:

• Tribes may be left out of the Public Assistance communications loop.
• Missing and inaccurate damage estimates can prevent or delay program delivery.
• Identifying whether homes are tribally owned.
• Identifying facilities ownership will require effort.
• Some tribes may need a thorough explanation of program requirements.
• Tribal cultural interest in specific land areas (commercial forests/hunting areas), roads/trails (leading to sacred/historical sites) and waterways (fisheries, wild rice production).
• Commercial facilities, owned and operated by the tribe, that provide financial means to support the operation of the tribal government and community.
• Making sure the tribe understands what facilities, infrastructure or tribally homes are eligible for mitigation measures and options available under the PA Mitigation program.

Eligible tribal applicants may need help starting the Public Assistance process. Public Assistance staff members should:

• Clarify State and other Federal agency roles in addressing tribal damage to assure that tribes are included in the process.
• Explain that if the Tribe has a good relationship with the State, involvement of the State in the PDA process and identification of projects may be beneficial (particularly if the Tribe will be a sub-recipient for PA). This may also provide a good opportunity to foster Federal, tribal and State partnerships
• Observe tribal protocol when meeting with representatives. Meet first with the Tribal Chairman, or designee, who will generally direct you to the appropriate department heads.
• Avoid promising assistance beyond program limits.

Click on this link to learn more about gaining tribal participation.

The BIA can support tribal participation in the Public Assistance program by:

• Providing FEMA-trained inspectors to serve on PDA teams.
• Identifying BIA roads and facilities, as well as tribal authorities who may advise on sacred and cultural sites.

Click on this link to learn more about assistance from BIA.

Tribal Applicants' Briefings usually present more detail than standard presentations. When planning for or assisting with a briefing for a tribal community:

• Determine past disaster experience. Tribes without prior program experience may have more extensive information needs.
• Be prepared to explain questions about eligibility, floodplain management, insurance requirements, environmental and historic considerations, and Federal procurement standards.
• Plan to explain the differences between recipient and sub-recipient status and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Bring experienced staff members who can work with tribal representatives to explain:

• Program requirements and processes.
• Eligibility requirements.
• Documentation needed for reimbursement.
• Floodplain management considerations, insurance requirements, hazard mitigation opportunities, and compliance with environmental and historic preservation laws.

Providing sample forms that demonstrate what is required can help ensure desired outcomes.

Click on this link to learn more about the Kickoff Meeting.

Federally Recognized Tribes have options for Public Assistance grant application. If the tribe obtains a direct declaration, the tribe will have recipient status. If a tribe is part of a State declaration, the tribe has the choice of being a recipient or sub-recipient. Some factors to consider are:

• A tribe may choose either status for current and future disasters.
• As a recipient, tribes need to sign a FEMA/tribe agreement, develop a Public Assistance Administrative Plan, comply with audit requirements, and pay the required non-Federal share.
• As a sub-recipient, tribes may receive a portion of the non-Federal share from the State, but do not receive the recipient administrative allowance.

Click on this link to learn more about applicant status.

Click on this link to view a sample Public Assistance Administrative Plan.

All Public Assistant applicants must maintain proper documentation. Audits show that tribes, like other applicants, often have problems documenting how work is done and recording the associated costs. To prevent problems, Public Assistance staff members should:

• Encourage tribes to participate in training available through FEMA to help them administer the program. They may want to send someone to the E-0705 Fundamentals of Grants Management course offered through EMI.
• Explain that failure to keep proper records can result in no funding or recovery of funds by FEMA.
• Provide extra help and monitoring as projects begin. Early support will pay off with fewer grant management problems.

Click on this link to learn more about providing grant monitoring help.

Public Assistance projects, whether located on or off tribal lands, may raise environmental and historic preservation concerns.

Public Assistance staff should work with tribes to identify whether a project may affect the environment on tribal lands, disturb tribal historic or sacred sites, or reveal artifacts.

Tribes generally have designated representatives to assist with environmental and historic matters.

Click on this link to learn more about environmental and historic preservation concerns.

Before proceeding to the next lesson, you may want to review the following Web links:

• Public Assistance Grant Program
• Public Assistance Roles and Responsibilities
• Public Assistance Policy and Guidance
• Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation (EHP) Program
• Principal Environmental & Historic Preservation Laws

Now that you've completed this lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify best practices for preparing to deliver Public Assistance programs to tribal communities.
• Identify potential Public Assistance issues and possible solutions when working with tribal governments.

In the next lesson, you will learn about how the Hazard Mitigation and Floodplain programs coordinate with tribal governments.

Upon completion of this lesson you should be able to:

• Identify best practices for preparing to deliver Mitigation programs to tribal communities.
• Identify potential Mitigation issues and possible solutions when working with tribal governments.

Click on this link to access a description of Mitigation programs.

The Federal Insurance and Mitigation staff faces a cultural bias against planning for disasters. Tribes must decide whether to apply as grantees or subgrantees for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). Despite a long history of flood damage, none of the affected tribes participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Audio Transcript

At a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, or HMGP, Applicants' Briefing, one tribal chairman said that mitigation planning could be an invitation to disaster.

Two of the tribes expressed interest in applying as HMGP grantees rather than as subgrantees.

None of the tribes has developed mitigation plans needed for HMGP participation. The tribal governments lack resources to devote to mitigation planning and grant management.

Just after the Applicants' Briefing, a tribal election changed the leadership. Newly elected tribal officials have no background on the HMGP, and the process is stalled.

None of the affected tribes has been mapped by the NFIP or belongs to the NFIP.

One tribe has found itself unable to attract developers without a floodplain management program.

This lesson presents strategies for addressing the challenges associated with mitigation issues.

Mitigation poses challenges to tribal governments. Tribes must:

• Invest time and effort to meet planning requirements for mitigation.
• Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of recipient and sub-recipient status under the HMGP. In some cases it is illegal for the State to represent the tribe.
• Overcome barriers to NFIP participation by getting tribal lands mapped and passing floodplain ordinances.

Click on this link to access FEMA's Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide.  The Guide explains the mitigation planning requirements in Title 44 of the Code of Federal; Regulations (CFR), Part 201. These are the legal requirements for developing and updating tribal mitigation plans.

In working with tribes to promote mitigation:

• Provide thorough explanations of mitigation and NFIP programs and requirements.
• Plan to meet with tribal leaders and the tribal council to explain planning and NFIP requirements.
• If the tribe is to act as sub-recipient, offer to provide assistance to the tribe to develop a project that will meet HMGP eligibility requirements.
• Suggest ways to gain the greatest benefit from available funding.
• Find partners within the tribal administration, such as Water Resources or Emergency Management agencies, to bring proposals to the tribal council.

Click on this link to access more information about building mitigation partnerships.

If the tribe is the grant recipient, FEMA will conduct an Applicant’s Briefing for the tribe to explain the HMGP program and eligibility.

If the tribe is a sub-recipient under the State, the State will conduct applicants’ briefings and tribal representatives can choose to either attend a briefing with other impacted communities and counties, or they can request the State conduct a separate briefing for just the tribe.

In either case, FEMA staff should insure the briefings:

• Serve to form or strengthen mitigation partnerships with a tribe.
• Include HMGP steps and timelines, and aids such as sample mitigation plans and project applications.
• Explain differences between recipient and sub-recipient status.

To receive PDM, HMGP, and other mitigation grant funds, tribes need to develop mitigation plans. Mitigation personnel should:

• Describe planning as avoiding damage rather than preparing for disasters. According to grassroots sentiment, if you prepare, it will happen.
• Provide technical assistance. Some Tribes may need assistance in developing required mitigation plans. Tribes choosing recipient status under the HMGP may need assistance meeting planning requirements as well as administering the program.

Click on this link to access more information about building tribal planning capability.

Tribes may apply as grant recipients or sub-recipients under the HMGP and/or the Public Assistance (PA) program. Some factors to consider include the following:

• A tribe may choose either status for current and future disasters, and may choose a different status for the HMGP and the PA program for the same disaster.
• As recipients, tribes need to develop a mitigation plan and pay the entire grant cost-share.
• As sub-recipients, tribes may not have to pay the full 25% match, as some States may pay a percentage of the cost-share.

Click on this link to access more information about applicant status.

Tribal governments are showing increasing interest in National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) participation. Tribal communities may want to participate in the NFIP because:

• Floodplain mapping allows for planning, so people can be moved out of harm's way if flooding is imminent.
• The NFIP offers flood insurance coverage for structures and contents that does not follow claims with fee increases or dropped policies. 
• Potential developers may want to insure projects on reservations, but insurance is not available without participation in the NFIP and floodplain management. 
• Tribes gain more control over State and Federal construction projects that would alter water flows. 
• In most cases, flood insurance will reimburse more money than disaster relief programs can provide.

Click on this link to access more information about working with tribes to join the NFIP.

Advice and information should be provided to tribes throughout the adoption process. Below is a list of steps that tribes follow to participate in the NFIP:

• First, a tribal agency will review information about the NFIP to decide whether the tribe should join.
• After deciding to recommend NFIP membership, the agency will present a model resolution to their tribal council asking them to review the model and consent to the tribe's intention to participate.
• Tribes will then work with FEMA to decide what waterways or other flood-prone areas should be studied.
• Following passage of the resolution, the tribe may need support to adopt or develop a floodplain ordinance.
• Finally, flood maps will be developed as funding becomes available.

Click on this link to access more information about the NFIP adoption process.

Click here to view a model resolution.

The following Web sites provide more information about mitigation programs:

• Mitigation Information
• Mitigation Best Practices Portfolio
• The National Flood Insurance Program
• Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs
• FEMA's Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide.

Now that you've completed this lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify best practices for preparing to deliver Mitigation programs to tribal communities.
• Identify potential Mitigation issues and possible solutions when working with tribal governments.

In the next lesson, you will review a summary of the information in the previous lessons.

Like other U.S. citizens and local governments, tribal members, others that reside on tribal lands and that the tribe has determined to be “part of the community,” and tribal governments may be eligible for Federal disaster assistance and other programs that benefit individuals and their communities.

This course emphasized key points regarding interacting with tribal people and working with tribal governments on disaster-related issues.

There may be some difficulties and challenges that hinder effective working relationships with tribal governments regarding emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. This course addressed some of these challenges to prepare FEMA and other Federal workers to work effectively in partnership with tribes.

Connecting Federal disaster assistance programs and benefits with tribal leaders and governments may present challenges, including the following:

• Sometimes the State and local emergency management network overlooks tribal governments.
• Tribal leaders may not know how to ask for Federal assistance. 
• Previous experiences with FEMA or other federal agencies will influence how your initial contact is perceived, particularly if those experiences were not helpful to the tribe.

• Tribal cultures and traditions may conflict with work expectations and procedures.
• Respect for tribal leadership structures and decisionmaking processes is key to establishing good working partnerships on disaster-related issues.
• Language barriers may create obstacles to working with tribal people.
• Tribal people may see Federal emergency program activities as interference with tribal culture. In fact, traditionally some tribal people believe that planning a response to a potential disaster may actually bring about such disaster.

• History is important to tribal people and the unfavorable actions from federal government policy in the past toward tribes will influence how you are initially received as a federal employee.
• However well intentioned, many federal policies of the past resulted in very negative outcomes for tribal people.
• Indian communities often mistrust representatives of the Federal Government, and past experiences with other Federal employees may cause unfavorable receptions for disaster workers.

• Family plays a central role, and elders are treated with great respect.
• Information often comes by way of a story.
• Indians place high value on preserving native languages and religious traditions.
• Hospitality to visitors and guests is a widely shared value.
• Most tribal people prefer to be addressed by a tribal name, such as being a Western Shoshone, rather than being called "Indians" or "Native Americans." 
• Tribal culture is relationship focused to build trust. Federal programs are task focused to get results. Look for ways to bridge this difference.
• Tribes will take time to consider the long-term effects of decisions – don’t try to rush decision-making.
• Each tribe is unique in its culture – avoid making any assumptions based on previous interactions with other tribal governments.

• Many tribes currently lack emergency management resources and training. 
• Some tribes may lack technology or internet capability so printed information will be needed to distribute to decision-makers.
• Tribes will need to balance their traditions and culture with more modern ways and what is “appropriate” to the tribe may not match what federal programs deem as most appropriate measure, particularly with regard sacred sites, tribal lands and natural resources.
• Don’t assume you know what’s best for the tribe. Provide them with information and allow them to decide what’s best within the limits of program policy and funding
• Avoid over-promising or setting up false expectations. Be sure to explain what is and is not within Agency limits for implementing any programs.
• To assist tribes in building emergency management capabilities, FEMA staff can work with tribes to develop emergency operations and mitigation plans, encourage participation in Federal programs that might prove beneficial, and help them gain access to funds, training, and technical assistance. 
• Tribes will likely need more time to make decisions, consulting with cultural leaders, elders or other groups. Do not rush any tribe into making decisions and use any allowable program extensions to accommodate tribal decision-making. 

• Challenges to increasing Indian participation in Individual Assistance programs include isolation of individuals, complications related to individual vs. tribal home ownership, and the need to observe protocol and respect cultural norms when inspecting property.
• Challenges to tribal governments as applicants and recipients of Public Assistance include being aware of and involved in the program, resolving ownership complications regarding public facilities on tribal lands, meeting cost-sharing provisions, and respecting sacred sites in disaster-affected areas.
• Challenges to increasing mitigation activity among tribal governments include lack of existing mitigation plans needed to receive mitigation grants, lack of participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, and limited understanding of mitigation planning among many tribal leaders.