Jodi Gillette blog post on tribal consultations

As part of the President Obama’s commitment to regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with federally recognized Indian tribes, we are pleased to update you on the implementation of the Presidential Memorandum on Tribal Consultation, which the President signed during the White House Tribal Nations Conference on November 5, 2009. The President directed federal agencies to develop plans to implement Executive Order 13175, “Consultation and Coordination with Tribal Governments.” These plans are to be developed after consultation with Indian tribes and must be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget by February 3, 2010.

Through interagency coordination and other methods, agencies are presently seeking input from tribal leaders. For example, the Department of the Interior initiated a series of consultations starting on December 1, 2009. The Department of Justice is conducting teleconference calls with tribes; please visit their website for a complete schedule of calls. Through national conference calls and in writing, the Department of Homeland Security is requesting tribal input on a draft consultation policy and a plan. The Veteran’s Administration is also requesting written tribal input. The Department of Labor will be hosting two national consultations; more details can be found on their website.

Please communicate with the agencies directly for more information, and please click here if you would like a list of agency contacts.

For general questions, please email GeneralTribalIGA@dsr.eop.gov. We encourage you to participate in these ongoing discussions, and we look forward to working together to strengthen the Nation-to-Nation relationship.

Jodi Rave