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Table 2. Typical issues on projects affecting or concern to
tribal communities.
Major Category Issue Issue in the Tribal Context
Cultural Competency Cultural differences between tribes and transportation agencies can
make collaborative efforts like communication difficult as agency
and individual interaction protocols can differ between parties.
Protection/Preservation of For cultural, environmental, and historical reasons, tribes often
Tribal-Sensitive consider resources, otherwise not considered sensitive, as needing
Resources to be preserved regardless of the need for transportation facilities.
Confidentiality of Tribal- Cultural practices and historical considerations often limit tribes on
Sensitive Matters the extent of information that they can share with other project
stakeholders. It may be that a tribe has knowledge of a historic or
cultural property that needs to be protected, but the location of the
site is confidential.
Sovereignty The federal government recognizes tribes across the nation as
separate, sovereign nations, whose jurisdictions and institutional
relationships and protocols must be recognized. State/tribal issues
such as jurisdictional issues in civil and criminal matters complicate
intergovernmental issues.
Land Ownership Common land ownership issues like right-of-way can lead to
difficulties to project completion. In addition to common issues,
consideration must be given to unique land ownership situations in
the tribal context, like the management of trust lands by tribes.
Funding While project funding issues are also common to all transportation
projects, the tribal transportation context leads to different types of
funding issues involving multiple sources. Project funding can be
provided by the tribe, state or BIA affairs to complete tribal-needs
projects.
· Tribal and local governments do not fully understand each cally recognized sites). For example, while a site may not be
other's cultural practices as they pertain to interaction in federally recognized as a historical site, it may be considered
the transportation process. historical by a tribe. Some additional examples of this type of
issue are provided here.
Skill Development
Natural and biological resources (e.g., mountains,
· A major challenge of tribal involvement is communicating
rivers, creeks, wildlife, etc.)6
cultural significance to transportation agencies.
· Tribes consider maintaining their quality of life and the state
of the environment as high priorities.
4.3.2 Major Issue No. 2: Protection
· Transportation agency decision makers need to hear directly
and Preservation of
from tribes on important natural resource issues.
Tribal-Sensitive Resources
· Transportation projects may have an impact on biological
In addition to cultural competency, the initial transportation resources that are considered to be tribally sensitive species,
initiative context layer also acquires different meanings and which may differ from federally threatened and endangered
presents different challenges in regards to the protection and species.
preservation of tribal-sensitive resources. Tribes may consider
certain resources to be sensitive and of concern when affected
by a transportation project, while local, state, and federal gov-
ernments may not recognize the same resources as having the
same degree of cultural significance. Resources that may be 6
Under NEPA, transportation projects must undergo an environmental assess-
defined "sensitive" by tribes include: (1) natural and biological ment and one of the key aspects is the biological evaluation for flora and fauna in
the project area. Tribal concurrence on these reports is required and special con-
resources (mountains, rivers, creeks, wildlife, etc.); (2) cultural sideration must be given to "tribally sensitive species" that may be different from
resources (cultural sites); and (3) historical resources (histori- federal threatened and endangered species.
