Environmental Protection in Indian Country: The Fundamentals

摘要

Tribes and Native villages are demonstrating rein-vigorated environmental activism as they face new pressures on the natural resources many depend on for their economic and cultural livelihood. From the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, to Alaska Native villages relocating their communities in the face of rising sea levels, to impacts to the Navajo Nation from the closure of a major coal plant, there is a growing role for environmental attorneys in Indian country. Yet this field is distinct, involving matters of sovereignty, reserved treaty rights, and religious freedom. On July 26, 2017, ELI held a seminar that explored key concepts of the trust relationship between tribes and the federal government, and the role tribes and Native villages play in managing their natural resources. The discussion covered a number of the legal tools uniquely available to tribes, and the speakers provided practitioners with the fundamentals of Indian law, application of federal environmental statutes to tribal lands, and the challenges to-and opportunities for-responsibly managing natural resources in Indian country. Below, we present a transcript of the discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.