Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples have been here since time immemorial.
The vast majority of federal lands are carved out of the ancestral homelands of Tribal Nations. Despite physical removal by military force and displacement from these traditional territories, Tribal Nations’ cultural and inherited connections to these places have remained strong.
Federal land management laws fail to protect the rights and interests of Tribal Nations with a historical connection to, or treaty or other reserved rights on, public land. Currently, public land containing a Tribal sacred place or treaty rights to fish or hunt may be sold to private developers or put under state control regardless of a Tribe’s relationship to the land.
We must all stand together in order to protect these sacred places and to ensure Indigenous voices are amplified, through representation to co-lead and co-manage in these important matters for the future of our planet. We have an inherent right to the freedom of our religions, belief systems, and traditional ways of life.
Join us in adding your name in support of the Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Lands Act and the Tribal Cultural Areas System Act.
ADVANCING TRIBAL PARITY ON PUBLIC LANDS ACT
Tribal Nations, conservationists, and their partners are urging Congress to update federal laws to ensure that tribal governments are afforded the rights due to them as sovereign nations and to increase protection for federal lands that contain tribal cultural sites. The Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Lands Act would achieve these important goals.
TRIBAL CULTURAL AREAS SYSTEM ACT
Tribal Nations have urged Congress to amend federal land management laws to improve protections of sacred places and cultural resources located on federal lands. The proposed Tribal Cultural Areas System Act would accomplish this crucial goal.
The proposed Tribal Cultural Areas System Act would establish a national system, to be made up of culturally significant sites on public lands. While current law has established national systems of protected lands for parks, wilderness, and other purposes, no such system exists for tribal cultural sites. This leaves tribes with limited ability to influence the protection and management of lands they have used since time immemorial. Under the proposal, Congress would create a Tribal Cultural Areas System and could add or remove lands from the system.
Sign our petition in support of The House Committee on Natural Resources passing the Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Lands Act and the Tribal Cultural Areas system Act. We need protective measures that will ensure future generations will be able to experience the beauty of the places that nurtured the first peoples of this land.
To:
The House Committee on Natural Resources
From:
[Your Name]
Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples have been here since time immemorial.
The vast majority of federal lands are carved out of the ancestral homelands of Tribal Nations. Despite physical removal by military force and displacement from these traditional territories, Tribal Nations’ cultural and inherited connections to these places have remained strong.
Federal land management laws fail to protect the rights and interests of Tribal Nations with a historical connection to, or treaty or other reserved rights on, public land. Currently, public land containing a Tribal sacred place or treaty rights to fish or hunt may be sold to private developers or put under state control regardless of a Tribe’s relationship to the land.
We must all stand together to protect sacred places and to ensure Indigenous voices and representation co-lead in these important matters of the future of the planet and the natural world. We have an inherent right to the freedom of our religions, belief systems, and traditional ways of life.
We urge you to support the passing of the Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Lands Act and the Tribal Cultural Areas System Act.
