Consultation Support Center

Background
The Consultation Support Center provides the latest information to help tribal leaders engage with the federal government in consultations. Please help NCAI keep this Center as updated as possible by sending new consultation announcements, information, and resources to Ryan Seelau, Senior Researcher, at: rseelau@ncai.org. 

On this page you will find.

♦ Week at a Glance (a quick list of consultations, listening sessions, and deadlines for the week)
♦ Key Consultation Dates Relating to President Biden's Tribal Consultation Memorandum
♦ Key Consultation Dates Relating to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
♦ Key Resources on Tribal Consultation

Additionally, the Consultation Support Center has additional information on: 

♦ Consultation/Listening Session Announcements (a list upcoming tribal consultation sessions with relevant information/links)
♦ Consultation Materials by Agency (a list of federal agencies and agency-specific documents related to tribal consultation)
♦ Consultation Resources/Archives (additional documentation relevant to tribal consultation)

 

Week at a Glance
(May 3 - 9, 2021)
Monday, May 3
  No consultation sessions, listening sessions, or deadlines on this date.
Tuesday, May 4
  CONSULTATION (3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EDT): BIE consultation on whether BIE should request from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) a waiver of assessment requirements for the 2020-2021 School Year for the protection of the health and safety or students, staff, and their communities, which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  CONSULTATION (3:00 - 5:00 p.m. EDT): USDA Rural Development (RD) and Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) consultation on the Emergency Rural Development Grants specifically for Rural Healthcare that were authorized through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021.
Wednesday, May 5
  CONSULTATION (1:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT): DHS consultation on: (1) implementing E.O. 13175; (2) the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021; (3) DHS's tribal consultation policy; and (4) repatriation.
  CONSULTATION (3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EDT): BIE consultation on whether BIE should request from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) a waiver of assessment requirements for the 2020-2021 School Year for the protection of the health and safety or students, staff, and their communities, which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  DEADLINE: Treasury comments on the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) due on this date, submit through regulations.gov.
Thursday, May 6
  No consultation sessions, listening sessions, or deadlines on this date.
Friday, May 7
  CONSULTATION (1:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT): DHS consultation on: (1) implementing E.O. 13175; (2) the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021; (3) DHS's tribal consultation policy; and (4) repatriation.
  LISTENING SESSION (1:30 - 5:00 p.m. EDT): DOJ listening session for grassroots organizations working in the areas of missing or murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.
  CONSULTATION (2:00 - 4:00 p.m. EDT): BIA consultation on funding assessment and methodology input for Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).
  DEADLINE: BIE written comments on whether BIE should request from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) a waiver of assessment requirements for the 2020-2021 School Year for the protection of the health and safety or students, staff, and their communities, which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are due to consultation@bia.gov on this date.

Key Consultation Dates Relating to President Biden's Tribal Consultation Memoradum
On January 26, 2021 President Biden signed a memorandum titled “Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships” declaring, “It is a priority of my Administration to make respect for Tribal sovereignty and self-governance, commitment to fulfilling Federal trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations, and regular, meaningful, and robust consultation with Tribal Nations cornerstones of Federal Indian policy.” The Presidential Memorandum goes on to convey its commitment to fulfilling the consultation requirements of Executive Order 13175, a directive originally issued by President Clinton on November 6, 2000.

President Biden also directs “each agency” to submit “a detailed plan of actions the agency will take to implement the policies and directives of Executive Order 13175.” These plans “shall be developed after consultation by the agency with Tribal Nations and Tribal officials”. All plans are to be submitted to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within 90 days (April 26, 2021).

The chart below provides a quick overview of agency responses to the Presidential Memorandum with more detailed information below.

 

Agency Published Deadline for
Written Comments?		 Published Dates for
Consultation Session(s)?
USDA Yes, March 22 to
tribal.relations@usda.gov		 Yes
March 9 and 11
DOC Yes, May 10 to
consultation@doc.gov -- DEADLINE EXTENDED!		 Yes
April 14 and 15
DOD Yes, March 22 to
DoD_NativeAffairs@keresnm		 Yes
April 13, 16, and 19
ED Yes, April 23 to
ron.lessard@ed.gov		 Yes
April 19
DOE Yes, April 9 to
TribalConsultation@hq.doe.gov		 Yes
April 9
HHS Yes, March 26 to
consultation@hhs.gov		 Yes
March 22, 23, 24, and 25
DHS Yes, May 25 to
david.munro@hq.dhs.gov		 Yes
April 29, 30 and May 1, 5, 7, and 11
HUD Yes, April 5 to
tribalconsultationpolicy@hud.gov		 Yes
February 25 and March 23
DOJ Yes, April 9 to
OTJ@usdoj.gov		 Yes
April 7, 8, and 9
DOI Yes, March 19 to
consultaion@bia.gov		 Yes
March 8, 10, and 12
DOL Yes, April 16 to
TribalConsultation@dol.gov		 Yes
April 14
DOS Yes, April 12 to
TribalConsultation@state.gov		 Yes
April 12
Treasury Yes, April 15 to
tribal.consult@treasury.gov		 Yes
April 6, 7, and 8
DOT Yes, March 31 to
tribalaffairs@dot.gov		 Yes
March 23
VA Yes, April 20 to
tribalgovernmentconsultation@va.gov		 Yes
April 6, 7, and 8

Below is a list of key dates related to the Presidential Memorandum. For a complete list of consultation sessions, including those unrelated to President Biden's Memorandum, please click here.

April 26, 2021

All updated plans are to be submitted to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by this date.

May 1, 2021

CONSULTATION (5:00 p.m. EST): Department of Homeland Security consultation on consultation policy and multiple other issues.

May 5, 2021

CONSULTATION (1:00 p.m. EST): Department of Homeland Security consultation on consultation policy and multiple other issues. 

May 7, 2021

CONSULTATION (1:00 p.m. EST): Department of Homeland Security consultation on consultation policy and multiple other issues. 

May 10, 2021

DEADLINE: Department of Commerce requires all written comments regarding tribal consultation policy to be sent to consultation@doc.gov by 3:00 p.m. EDT.

May 11, 2021

CONSULTATION (5:00 p.m. EST): Department of Homeland Security consultation on consultation policy and multiple other issues. 

May 25, 2021

DEADLINE: Department of Homeland Security requires all written comments regarding tribal consultation policy to be sent to david.munro@hq.dhs.gov with “Tribal Consultation” in the subject line by 6;00 p.m. Alaska Time on this date.

 

Key Consultation Dates Relating to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
On Friday, March 12, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a special package containing roughly $1.9 trillion to help the country respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The final version of this legislation features over $31 billion in relief to Indian Country for tribal operations, housing, childcare, education, and other critical needs -- including $20 billion in direct funding to tribal governments and over $6 billion in tribal healthcare funding. To read NCAI's detailed overview of the tribal provisions in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, please click here. 

 

May 4, 2021

CONSULTATION (3:00 - 5:00 p.m. EDT): USDA Rural Development and Office of Tribal Relations consultation on the Emergency Rural Development Grants specifically for Rural Healthcare that were authorized through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2011

 

Key Resources on Tribal Consultation

♦ President Clinton (November 6, 2000): Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments

♦ President Biden (January 26, 2021): Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships 

♦ Department of the Interior (February 2021): Improving Interior’s Consultation with Tribes: Development of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Plan for Improving Implementation of EO 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments

♦ US Government Accountability Office (March 2019): Tribal Consultation: Additional Federal Actions Needed for Infrastructure Projects

 

Would you like to know more?

Click on the links below for more information on:

♦ Consultation Announcements
♦ Consultation Materials by Agency
♦ Consultation Resources/Archives