Tina Marie Osceola: BIA budget must address cultural resources

Thursday, August 18, 2011  

"When canvassing the myriad of Tribes, national associations, lobbyists and lawyers, and tribal leaders there is one issue that is glaringly absent from all of the dialogue: Funding for National Historic Preservation Act compliance (Section 106). The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), in addition to its layers of regulations that are supposed to protect historic and cultural resources, also authorizes Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPO). The NHPA does in fact provide a small amount of funding for THPOs through the National Park Service.

The NHPA requires cultural resource surveys whenever a federal action is initiated. This is critical because the development of any reservation is pretty much a federal action because of ground disturbing activity or funding sources, at the very least. Who performs cultural resource surveys? For the Seminole Tribe, the BIA Eastern Regional Office has to review and approve all actions. A cultural resource survey, performed according to the Secretary of Interior’s standards, must be reviewed by the BIA’s singular Regional Archaeologist.

Let’s say the Tribe pays for the survey because the federal agency charged with the trust responsibility never did any environmental or cultural surveys of their own. The data collected by the Tribe or their consultant belongs to the Tribe. So, when the report goes to the BIA Archaeologist to review and approve, what information do they have on which to base their opinion? Wait, it gets more complicated because after the BIA approves, they send it to the SHPO or THPO for concurrence. Yes, the THPO."

Get the Story:
Tina Marie Osceola: The NHPA’s Cultural Resource Surveys: Inefficient and Too Expensive (Indian Country Today 8/18)