Dear Tribal Leader Letter

Thursday, January 12 at 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Mountain
In-Person at BLM National Training Center, 9828 North 31st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85051

Tuesday, January 17 at 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Mountain
Virtual | Register in advance

Friday, January 20 at 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Mountain
Virtual | Register in advance

The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs proposes to consult on the List of Programs Eligible for Inclusion in Funding Agreements Negotiated with Self-Governance Tribes by Interior Bureaus Other than the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) (the “List”) that is prepared annually pursuant to section 412(c) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (the “ISDEAA”). A copy of the List for Fiscal Year 2022 can be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/ d/2022-025 84.

It is important to note the list is NOT a definitive list of all potentially c:ontractable programs and there may be many more that have yet to be identified. Prior versions of the List have included non-BIA programs or portions of programs that are eligible for inclusion in self-governance funding agreements with Indian Tribes. Past Lists have also included Fiscal Year programmatic targets for non-BIA bureaus under Title IV of the ISDEAA. We seek feedback on what information would be most helpful to Indian Tribes.

Joint Secretarial Order 3403 directs the Department’s bureaus to “[m]ake agreements with Indian Tribes to collaborate in the co-stewardship of Federal lands and waters under the Departments’ jurisdiction, including for wildlife and its habitat.” The Department views the ISDEAA as an importanrmeans for fulfilling the goals of Joint Secretarial Order 3403, and the List as a valuable resource for Indian Tribes seeking ways to develop collaborative arrangements in the co-stewardship of Federal lands and waters.

A listening session on this issue was previously held at the 2022 Self Governance Conference on August 2, 2022, at which non-BIA program staff were available for questions and answers. The results indicated that further consultation on the format and content of the List would be helpful. Indian Affairs invites you to consult on three topics:

• the value of the current format of the List to Indian Tribes seeking contracting, self­governance agreement(s), and/or compacting under ISDEAA;
• whether adding to the List a list of all contracts, self-governance agreements, and/or compacts, entered into by Department bureaus other than the BIA would be helpful for Tribes seeking to contract or compact with non-BIA Department bureaus; and
• whether general guidance on the principles governing contracting, self-governance agreement(s), and/or compacting under the ISDEAA should be included in the List.

Written comments should be submitted by email to consultations@bia.gov by 11:59 Eastern on Monday, February 20, 2023.

If you have any questions regarding this effort, please contact Samuel Kohn, Senior Counselor to the Assistant Secretruy -Indian Affairs, via email at samuel.kohn@bia.gov, or by phone at (202) 208-7163.