Guide on Consultation and Collaboration with Indian Tribal Governments and the Public Participation of Indigenous Groups and Tribal Members in Environmental Decision Making

The Indigenous Peoples Subcommittee is one of six subcommittees of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC), a federal advisory committee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The N EJAC believes the federal government has a responsibility to consult and collaborate with American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments as an essential element of itstrust responsibility to federally recognized tribal governments. However, the NEJAC contends that effective consultation and collaboration between federal agencies and federally recognized tribal governments is lacking. The NEJAC also believes that some existing public participation processes provide inadequate opportunities for tribal members and tribal communities to have meaningful involvement in the environmental and public health decisions affecting them.