Title: Support of an Expanded Multi–Agency Agreement

WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and

WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the oldest and largest national organization established in 1944 and comprised of representatives of and advocates for national, regional, and local Tribal concerns; and

WHEREAS, the health, safety, welfare, education, economic and employment opportunity, and preservation of cultural and natural resources are primary goals and objectives of NCAI; and,

WHEREAS, NCAI has determined that an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Indian Health Service (IHS), is necessary to the successful planning and development of Indian housing, and

WHEREAS, NCAI has determined that it is in the best interests of tribal governments trying to comply with federal environmental laws that the interagency agreement should include the Environmental Protection (EPA), and the Administration on Aging, and

WHEREAS, an expanded interagency agreement must at all times recognize and uphold Indian self-determination, tribal self-governance, and government-to-government consultation;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NCAI urges that the respective Secretaries of HUD, Interior, Health and Human Services, the Administrator on Aging and EPA, to consult with tribes in the development of a Multi-Agency Agreement that establishes uniform standards and procedures for compliance with NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) among the EPA, Administration on Aging, and Departments of Labor, Transportation, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs, and that EPA be designated as lead agency.

 

CERTIFICATION

 

The foregoing resolution was adopted at the 2000 Mid-Year Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Centennial Hall in Juneau, Alaska on June 25-28, 2000 with a quorum present.

_____________________________

Susan Masten, President

Juana Majel, Recording Secretary

Adopted by the General Assembly during the 2000 Mid-Year Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Centennial Hall in Juneau, Alaska on June 25-28, 2000.