Tribal roles and responsibilities are not well defined in the Planning Area. The Wind River Reservation, Wyoming’s only reservation, houses two federally recognized tribes, the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho. Although the modern boundaries of the reservation do not coincide with the Planning Area, historically, reservation boundaries entered into the Planning Area. The Wind River Reservation formerly extended along Owl Creek to its confluence with the Bighorn River in what is now Hot Springs County. The Crow Reservation in Montana formerly extended south to Shell Creek in what is now Big Horn County. At present, there are no identified treaty rights in the Planning Area. The BLM is committed to working with tribes as cooperating agencies and in formal consultations.
Judicially established lands are defined based on information provided by the Indian Claims Commission and approximating tribal lands that are determined by ethnographic and historic literature. The National Park Service (NPS 1993) indicates that the Crow judicially established lands encompass the Planning Area. Other tribes have judicially established land near, but outside, Planning Area boundaries. Although tribes have not explicitly identified traditional use areas in the Planning Area, this does not mean that such areas do not exist. Some site types present in the Planning Area, including rock art, form an integral part of traditional practices.
The following tribal political entities have expressed interest in consulting with the CYFO and the WFO regarding Native American issues and concerns. In some cases, if the tribe is willing, the BLM is developing MOUs regarding consultation for activities in the Planning Area.
Blackfeet, living on the Blackfeet Reservation, Browning, Montana.
Crow, living on the Crow Reservation, Crow Agency, Montana.
Nez Perce, living on the Nez Perce Reservation, Lapwai, Idaho.
Northern Arapaho, living on the Wind River Reservation, Fort Washakie, Wyoming.
Northern Cheyenne, living on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Lame Deer, Montana.
Salish and Kootenai, living on the Flathead Reservation, Pablo, Montana.
Shoshone, represented by two tribes (Eastern Shoshone, living on the Wind River Reservation, Fort Washakie, Wyoming; Shoshone Bannock, living on the Fort Hall Reservation, Fort Hall, Idaho).
Sioux, represented by three tribes (Cheyenne River Sioux living on the Cheyenne River Reservation, Eagle Butte, South Dakota; Oglala Sioux, living on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Pine Ridge, South Dakota; Rosebud Sioux, living on the Rosebud Reservation, Rosebud, South Dakota).
There are no trust lands, reservation lands, or tribal properties in the Planning Area. A number of treaties and policies did affect tribes in the region, but existing conditions do not reserve any lands or rights in the Planning Area. Treaties and policies included the First Treaty of Fort Laramie, the Blackfeet Treaty of 1855, the Hellgate Treaty, the Homestead Act of 1862, the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie, the Sioux Act of 1888, the Dawes Act, and the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.
Secretarial Order No. 3215, "Principles for the Discharge of the Secretary’s Trust Responsibility" (April 28, 2000) defines trust responsibility as responsibility toward Indian trust assets, which it defines as “lands, natural resources, money, or other tangible assets held in trust for Indian tribes and individual Indians or restricted against alienation.” Therefore, the BLM “has overall responsibility for establishing, implementing, and evaluating policy for meeting…tribal consultation responsibilities” (BLM 2004e). This obligation requires a reasonable and good faith effort to identify and consider, and to carry out programs in a manner sensitive to and consistent with, Native American concerns and tribal government planning and resource management programs.
A treaty is a formal agreement between the U.S. Government and a Native American tribe or tribes that cede land or reserve rights to the tribe(s). Executive Order 13084, Consultation with Indian Tribal Governments, and Executive Order 13007, Indian Sacred Sites, provide the framework for involving Native American tribes in the BLM planning process. BLM Manual 8120, Tribal Consultation Under Cultural Resource Authority, provides additional guidance (BLM 2004e).
Although there are no tribal government lands in the Planning Area, the BLM consults with tribes who have expressed interest in or concerns about the Planning Area to determine which groups intend to continue with government-to-government consultations. This process is ongoing.