RE: Tribal Limitations

[Sherri <sherrig@ctsi.nsn.us>]

Tribes are sovereign entities.  A strong land base is critical to establish self-governance, yet many Tribes presently have miniscule reservations due to multiple reasons (executive decisions that terminated federal recognition of Tribes & the subsequent retrieval of several millon acres of land previously established as Tribal Reservation, for example). Now Tribes strain to put fee land into trust (an application process subject to appeals from local authorities that sometimes deny and often delay trust status and, consequently, prevent development of the designated use hindering economic stability).  Once land is in trust(often fractionated parcels of land), Tribes have jurisdiction over land use (yet are regulated by stringent federal codes) necessary to provide for the special needs of their members.  

Tribes have developed multiple communities in the proximity of their Reservation - nonmembers alike benefit from infrastructure improvements and facility developments that protect human health and fuel the local economy.  

The Government to Government relationship is necessary to better enable Tribes to provide for the Natives of this country and inevitably, enhance the communities in which they reside through sound planning for our future.   

Sherri G.