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Restore ecosystems and the sustainability of communities, cultures, and economies.
PANEL 5 of 7
November 16, 2023 | 9-10:15am
Government to Government Collaborative Stewardship
Program Description
This panel will present on government-to-government relationships with Tribal Nations that frame successful collaborative Co-stewardship. Panelists will cover tribal consultation, federal trust responsibility, tribal sovereignty, and various legal mandates, laws, executive orders, and inter-agency agreements that facilitate effective partnerships for forest and watershed restoration.
Moderator: Belinda Brown • Pit River, Northern Paiute, Isleta Pueblo • Lomakatsi Restoration Project Tribal Partnerships Director
Presentation Recording
Panelists and Presentation Summaries
Bodie Shaw • Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs • Bureau of Indian Affairs, Deputy Regional Director for Trust Services
Bodie Shaw spoke to the importance of mentorship for those entering the work from leaders that have paved the way for reciprocal government-to-government relationships between Tribes and the United States. He shared appreciation for the Tribal leaders that support youth education and provide opportunities to bring their expertise back to their Tribe to benefit the entire community.
“This is going to be important for many of you up-and-comers to remember: hold on to those mentors, take those little bits of information that made them a quality leader, apply them as you start to grow your career.”
About Bodie
Mr. Bodie Shaw was appointed as the Deputy Regional Director—Trust Services for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Portland, in 2011. His primary duties include the oversight of trust programs for the BIA associated with management and protection of trust and restricted lands, natural resources, and real estate services for Northwest tribes. Prior to his Portland assignment, Mr. Shaw served in many roles with the BIA, including as the Deputy Director, Branch of Wildland Fire Management, and as the Acting Deputy Director, BIA Office of Trust Services in Washington DC.
Tanner Amdur-Clark • Citizen Potawatomi Nation • Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller and Monkman, LLP, Attorney
Tanner Amdur-Clark talked about the foundation of government-to-government relationships between Tribes and the U.S., beginning with the understanding that Tribes are governments and have different rules than nongovernmental organizations or other entities that also partner with the U.S. government. Tanner described arrangements of government-to–government relationships along a spectrum of legal responsibility, highlighting that often the most effective and successful relationships exist in the middle of the spectrum with a combination of federal and Tribal government collaboration. Legal authorities that support this include Tribal consultation, Co-Stewardship Agreements, and Self-Determination.
“The most important thing in government-to-government is remembering that Tribal Nations and the governments that run Tribal Nations and represent Tribal Nations are governments.”
About Tanner
Mr. Nathaniel Amdur-Clark of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation is a Partner in the Anchorage office of Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman, LLP. He has extensive expertise in complex litigation matters on behalf of Tribes and Tribal organizations, self-determination and self-governance matters, and the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid in the Tribal health system. Mr. Amdur-Clark graduated from Harvard Law School in 2014, and also holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. He previously taught as an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and currently teaches Federal Indian law as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown Law Center.
Wade Christensen • Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma • Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, Silviculture Forester
Wade Christensen talked about his work with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians to protect the lands and resources within their control and their ancestral lands, which may not be within the Tribe’s jurisdiction, but are significant places of ancestral food gathering and sacred sites. He shared that the pathway to accessing ancestral lands often involves partnering with private landowners and state or federal government agencies in cooperative agreements using authorities focused on fuels reduction. He emphasized the distinction between land management and land stewardship by detailing an example of the Tribe establishing a traditional oak woodland after repeated conifer re-planting failures. He also spoke to the importance of building strong collaborative partnerships grounded in cultural respect and upholding the basic tenants of courtesy found in government-to-government relationships.
“The Tribe has ancestral lands, and those lands, regardless of who they belong to, are still important to them and they’re still connected to them.”
About Wade
Mr. Wade Christensen is the Silviculture Forester for the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians, supporting stewardship on 36,000 acres of tribal lands in southwest Oregon where he promotes sustainable forest practices to manage the land for social, economic, and environmental goals for future generations. His most recent projects focus on the ecological restoration of oak woodlands and meadows as well as fuels reduction projects partnered with the U.S. Forest Service under the Tribal Forest Protection Act. Mr. Christensen holds a Bachelor’s in Forest Management and a Master’s of Forestry Degree from Oregon State University. He is a 23-year U.S. Army veteran, most notably serving in the Special Forces, and is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Direlle Calica • Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs • Portland State University, Institute for Tribal Government Policy & Summit Coordinator
Direlle Calica gave a brief history of the PSU Institute for Tribal Government, built through partnerships with the intention of filling a void of institutions in the Pacific Northwest that support Tribal leaders with direct services regarding intragovernmental work. She shared about the Institute’s work to engage Tribal leaders with resources to build intergovernmental relationships with local, state, federal, and international governments, as well as developing inter-Tribal relations. The Certificate in Tribal Relations Program teaches Tribal liaisons and others in local, state, and federal agencies how to meaningfully engage with Tribes, recognizing that government-to-government relationships and consultation with Tribes is a dynamic, constantly evolving process that requires cultural awareness and adaptive planning for place-based connections with the people and the land.
“The questions around consultation of government-to-government can get stuck in the concepts around it, where we at the Institute for Tribal Government are trying to push: What is actual meaningful consultation. What does that look like? Is that just an event? Is that a ‘Dear Tribal Chairman’ letter? No. It’s a process, it’s describing a relationship.”
About Direlle
Mrs. Direllen Calica has over 20 years of experience as a legislative, policy, planning, and regulatory advisor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office-District of Oregon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Intertribal Organizations, and various Indian Tribes. Her professional background includes a Juris Doctorate with a focus on Business and Natural Resource policy. Mrs. Calica was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Lewis & Clark Law School in the Indian Law Program. She is currently the Director of the Institute for Tribal Government at Portland State University and the Managing Partner of Kanim Associates, LLC a Native American, women, and Veteran owned company based in Portland, Oregon.
Resources
- Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and BLM Medford District MOU Regarding Co-Stewardship on BLM-Managed Lands [Link]
- Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians Presentation to the Oregon Board of Agriculture (2023) [Link]
- Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 [Link]
- Interior Department Issues Guidance to Strengthen Tribal Co-Stewardship of Public Lands and Waters [Link]
- Portland State University Certificate in Tribal Relations – Program Overview [Link]
- Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 [Link]
- USDOI Annual Report on Co-Stewardship [Link]
- USDOI Guidance on Co-Stewardship [Link]