Judith Royster has posted “Tribal Economic Development: Practical Sovereignty, Political Sovereignty, and the Secretary’s Shrinking Role in Natural Resource Development,” part of the Lewis & Clark Indigenous Economic Development Symposium. Here is the abstract:
One of the primary means of economic development for many Indian tribes is development of the reservation’s natural resources. Despite the extent and economic importance of the resource base, however, tribal control over the development and use of tribal natural resources has historically been limited. In the last few decades, Indian tribes have gained a far greater role in decision-making concerning the use of their natural resources. In part this increased role results from tribes asserting a greater say in what occurs within their territories, and in part from new federal laws that place more of the decision-making power in tribal hands.
The three major natural resources traditionally subject to leasing are agricultural and grazing lands, forests, and minerals. Each has been subject to federal statutes that follow a similar arc – comprehensive federal control and exploitation during the allotment period; a slight loosening of federal control, tribal consent, and concern with tribal revenue streams in the reorganization period; and new approaches focusing more on tribal participation, partnerships, and increased control during the modern era of self-determination. Most recently, Congress has begun to enact a next generation of resource development statutes that authorize tribes, subject to Interior-approved general regulations, to enter into specific development agreements without federal approval. Following a review of the trajectory of tribal resource development statutes, this article explores the most wide-ranging of these new statutes: the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act of 2005.
Turtle Talk 