Resolution 2024-04
WHEREAS, for generations, sovereign Tribes and Indigenous communities have wisely stewarded the natural resources of the Americas through their knowledges, cultures, and practices; and
WHEREAS, for over thirty-five years, the National Wildlife Federation has supported Tribal conservation priorities; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation has called on the conservation community and federal, state, and local governments to incorporate Free, Prior, and Informed Consent into their approach to conservation work (Resolution 2023-06, “Principles for Partnering with Tribes and Indigenous Communities”); and
WHEREAS, Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) has its origins in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007 and is based on the universal, collective right of self-determination and confirms Indigenous peoples’ right to provide or withhold their consent, at any point, regarding projects that may impact their communities or territories and establishes a framework for participation in decision-making on projects and management activities that affect their rights; and
WHEREAS, Tribal Sovereignty and self-determination are fundamental Tribal rights and the federal government has a trust responsibility to Tribes; and
WHEREAS, The National Wildlife Federation’s Tribal and Indigenous Partnerships Enhancement Strategy (TIPES) establishes the values, priorities, and strategy for NWF to enhance and expand the Federation’s partnerships with Tribes which includes the responsibility for NWF to respect, protect and provide support for Free, Prior, and Informed Consent; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the NWF’s FPIC policy is to advocate, foster, protect, and encourage the social, cultural, and traditional well-being of all Tribal Nations in the United States and Indigenous peoples internationally; and
WHEREAS, the TIPES conveys an inherent responsibility for authentic understanding of Tribal government authority, sovereignty and self-determination over their lands; and
WHEREAS, the TIPES provides protocols for having an understanding of and a responsibility for upholding the integrity to every federally and state recognized Tribal nation with FPIC to protect their traditional cultural properties, ecosystems, and water systems, whether or not they are located within each Tribal current exterior boundaries; and
WHEREAS, the United States manages approximately 640 million acres of federal lands, that were carved out of the ancestral homelands of Indigenous Tribes, and Tribes manage 95 million acres of land; and
WHEREAS, Tribes have maintained historical and spiritual connections to lands now designated as federal lands, submerged lands, and bodies of water, and Tribes continue to exercise rights on federal lands, accessing and protecting cultural resources, ecosystems, and traditional cultural properties to maintain usage of sacred sites vital to ongoing traditional cultural practices; and
WHEREAS, the conservation, protection, and restoration of each Tribe’s lands, wildlife, waters, and peoples as part of an ecological and cultural ecosystem is necessary to each Tribe’s cultural preservation and identity now and into the future; and
WHEREAS, executive orders, federal court decisions, federal laws, treaties and regulations acknowledge the Tribes’ sovereign and self-determined rights to access federal lands and require federal land managers to follow Free, Prior, and Informed Consent with Tribal governments prior to taking action that would impact these rights; and
WHEREAS, some federal and state efforts to develop and transfer federal lands often ignore Tribes and Tribal government rights and protections and have resulted in the desecration of Tribal cultural landscapes, sacred sites, and ecosystems and the mismanagement of natural resources resulting in irreparable harm, including destruction of Tribal cultural resources; and
WHEREAS, the current federal land management laws permit the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture to transfer, sell, exchange, and lease federal lands to state governments, municipalities, and non-profit corporations via several administrative methods; however, these laws inequitably exclude Tribes and Tribal governments from similar processes that would enable the restoration of federal lands that hold significant legal and cultural value to them, underscoring the critical need for cross-jurisdictional management and co-stewardship with Tribes.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT BE RESOLVED, that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled June 26-29, 2024, fully endorses and supports Free, Prior, and Informed Consent with Tribal nations and its use when all entities, including Federal and state governments, engage with Tribal Nations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NWF is committed to the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent and supportive of its inclusion in practice, language, and policy in the management of natural resources and related activities including conservation and restoration, health, economics, conservation, restoration, and management of natural resources and education efforts of the National Wildlife Federation and conservation partners; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NWF, through its longstanding partnerships with Tribes and development of TIPES, endorses and supports FPIC to: Strengthen authentic relationships with Tribes, Tribal leadership, and Tribal communities across the United States; Strengthen protections of Tribal ecosystems, landscapes, natural resources, water systems, and cultural and sacred sites on federal lands; and Enhance meaningful engagement between NWF and Tribal governments based upon Free, Prior, and Informed Consent in the assessment and implementation of federal actions that could detrimentally impact sovereign rights to protect water systems, cultural resources, sacred sites, ecosystems, and traditional cultural properties located on federal lands; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, the National Wildlife Federation will be a leader in modeling and setting expectations for respecting and adhering to FPIC by supporting actions to implement Free, Prior, and Informed Consent with Tribal Nations nationally and internationally.