Protecting the Attributes of Native Sovereignty- A New Trust Paradigm for Federal Actions Affecting Tribal Lands and Resources

For the past two centuries, native nations have struggled to maintain a separate existence from that of the majority society to continue their distinct way of life. As has been the case throughout history, viable native separatism depends on a separate land base in which tribal governments, economies, and cultures may flourish. Maintaining an autonomous tribal existence on what amounts to a mere three percent of the original native territory is becoming increasingly difficult due to gathering environmental perils which threaten Indian Country. Rapid environmental degradation and resource depletion caused largely by non-Indian sectors of society, combined with mounting pressures to industrialize and exploit remaining native lands, now seriously threaten the ability of tribes to continue a viable separate existence.

In many cases, federal agencies bear responsibility for these threats through their role in managing public lands and regulating polluting activities adjacent to reservations, managing shared water and wildlife resources, and managing tribal lands and approving new development on reservations.