Environmental Justice Tracker

EJ Tracker Update

DOI, Other Agencies Signed MOU to Increase Tribal Consultation

Last updated:

December 6, 2021

Statute

N/A

Agencies

CEQ, DOE, DOI, DOT, EPA, FEMA, HUD, Labor, NOAA, State, USDA

Actions

Interagency Action

The same day as the first Tribal Nations Summit since 2016, the White House released a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by 17 federal agencies, including Interior, committing to increased consultation and collaboration with Tribes in recognition of existing treaty and reserved rights. The MOU included agency-specific commitments including to create a searchable treaty database, and integrate tribal treaty and reserved rights early into agency decision-making, in particular working to address the climate crisis. (See pp. 3-4 of the MOU for more).