Tribal consultation is a legal requirement for federal and some state governments. However, given the climate crisis and the growing appreciation of indigenous knowledge (especially with those federal agencies administering millions of acres of national forests and public lands), the US is re-emphasizing consultation and expanding the relationship between Tribes and governmental entities to include co-stewardship and co-management.

Some Tribes are not deferring to agencies to define consultation. The Hoopa Valley Tribe has a policy statement regarding consultation https://www.hoopa-nsn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/policy-consultation.pdf. The Karuk Tribe provides standards for the federal and California state government agencies who want to engage in consultation with them https://www.karuk.us/images/docs/hr-files/18-04-05_consultation_policy_FINAL_clean.pdf

There are also a growing series of agreements, contracts, and grants to support co-management and co-stewardship. Legally, co-stewardship is a sweeping term that can include a variety of activities between a federal agency and a Tribe, such as the perpetuation of medicinal plants and cultural burning. Co-management is more specific to a shared authority for responsibilities in a geographic area or management of species such as salmon.

Fortunately, there is a new repository, a cooperative project of the Native American Rights Fund, The Gallagher Law Library and The Native American Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law, the Bolle Center for People and Forests, the Wilderness Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Wilburforce Foundation, and the First Nations Development Institute. This resource includes information on cooperative arrangements including relevant laws, regulations, consultation, indigenous knowledge, dispute resolution, and specific examples. As noted on the site, information provided is shared on the basis of free, informed, prior consent whenever tribal nations are named. Please visit the repository at https://lib.law.uw.edu/friendly.php?s=cooperative

The recommended principles and practices in this 2011 article on consultation and interpretation are still valid. https://www.csus.edu/college/education/engagement/_internal/_documents/native-interpretation-americas-byways.pdf

For more information on current activities and opportunities please visit the website for the American Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association at  https://www.aianta.org/