The National Congress of American Indians
Resolution #PHX-16-020
TITLE: Self Governance Advancement – Tribal Compacting of National Park Projects and Programs
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1994 permits self-governance tribes who have a special geographic, historic or cultural relationship to National Park Units to enter into annual funding agreements (AFA) with the National Park Service to provide projects and programs in National Parks; and
WHEREAS, the following National Park Units are explicitly acknowledged by the National Park Service as having a special geographic, historic or cultural relationship to Federally Recognized Tribes, including but not limited to:
Aniakchack National Monument and Preserve
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Denali National Park and Preserve
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Kenai Fjords National Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Kobuk Valley National Park
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Noatak National Preserve
Sitka National Historical Park
Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Hohokam Pima National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Saguaro National Park
Tonto National Monument
Tumacacori National Historical Park
Tuzigoot National Monument
Arkansas Post National Memorial
Death Valley National Park
Devils Postpile National Monument
Joshua Tree National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Point Reyes National Seashore
Redwood National park
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Yosemite National park
Hagerman fossil Beds National Monument
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Boston Harbor Island National Recreation Area
Cape Cod National Seashore
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Isle Royale National Park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Grand Portage National Monument
Voyageurs National Park
Bear Paw Battlefield, Nez Perce National Historical Park
Glacier National Park
Great Basin National Park
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Bandeleir National Monument
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Pecos National Historical Park
White Sands National Monument
Fort Stanwix National Historic Monument
Great Smokey Mountains National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Crater Lake National Park
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
Alibates Flier Quarries National Monument
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
Ebey’s Landing National Recreation Area
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Mount Rainer National Park
Olympic National Park
San Juan Islands National Historical Park
Whitman Mission National Historical Site; and
WHEREAS, inexplicably few projects or programs, have been compacted to tribes or tribal organization in the more than 20 years since the enactment of the TSGA; and
WHEREAS, aside from an annual national notice in the Federal Register, there is not a discernable effort by the National Park Service to publicize the reoccurring opportunity for tribes to enter into funding agreements for projects and programs with the National Park Service; and
WHEREAS, the experience of tribes who have attempted to enter into funding agreements with the National Park Service is beset by bureaucratic difficulties, and a narrow interpretation of the programs and projects available for contracting to tribes.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American Indians requests the Secretary of the Interior to undertake an analysis of the entire record, including attempts, compacting and contracting of Park projects and programs by Tribes, and report back to the NCAI on barriers to compacting National Park projects and programs, and provide recommendations to remedy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED. that NCAI requests Congress hold hearings on the progress and barriers to tribal compacting and contracting of the National Park Service projects and programs as authorized by the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act as amended; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.
CERTIFICATION
The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the 2016 Annual Convention of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Phoenix Convention Center, October 9 to October 14, 2016, with a quorum present.