Biden admin, tribes to discuss climate change, racial justice

摘要

Saying tribal relations are of the "utmost importance" to the Biden administration, the Interior Department yesterday announced a virtual listening tour with Native Americans next month. Agency officials will conduct four teleconferences in March with tribes in an apparent effort to repair relationships after the Trump administration. Topics will include COVID-19, climate change, economic security and racial justice, the agency said. "Honoring our nation-to-nation relationship with Tribes and upholding the trust and treaty responsibilities to them are paramount to fulfilling Interior's mission," Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes, Interior's designated tribal governance officer and deputy solicitor for American Indian affairs, said in a statement. The meetings are part of Interior's efforts to fulfill President Biden's executive order and memorandum last month on tribal consultation — a key building block of federal-tribal relations.