The process NTEC followed to produce this paper was interesting, in that it started with an open invitation to all tribes and tribal consortia to participate in a week-long series of listening sessions that were entirely open ended: there were no set agendas or time frames. The short time frame added some extra zest as well: it was learned at the end of September that the Conference would occur in early November, leaving only about one month to bring it all together. Accordingly, the first week of October was basically spent on the phone, following a simply formula: 5 days, 5 Times Zones, 5 Listening sessions, with the Tribes determining the agenda, and the phone lines staying open until folks were done talking. Rather than group Tribes by the Regions or Areas preferred by various Federal Agencies, it was decided to start each call at 10am – for each time zone. So, all the Tribes and groups in the Eastern Time zone were invited at 10am on Monday, those in the Central Time zone on Tuesday, etc, all the way to the folks in Alaska on Friday. Tribes that couldn’t make the call for their time zone were welcome to call in on any other session, and many did. The average length of the calls were about 2.5 hours, with the longest being over 3.5 hours. The number of participants ranged from 10-35 per listening session. In order to accomplish this, some new technological tools were used, including NTEC’s national database of tribal environmental contacts and internet-based Google Docs. The database (still under construction) allowed NTEC to reach out to over 500 Tribes and Inter-Tribal Consortia. Google Docs allowed participants to set the agenda themselves, by creating a space where they could list their names, contact information, and issues they wanted to discuss. Links to the five (5) interactive agendas (one for each session/time zone) were included in the invitation email, and the issues were addressed on a first-come-first-served basis. The listening sessions were then followed up with direct email and phone conversations with dozens on participants, as many wanted to share additional details, or provide additional input. The many partici-pants were incredible in their willingness to share their time and stories, and we at NTEC are grateful we were able to facilitate this process. As stated in the foreword, it is hoped that the document will be used by the Obama Administration as a springboard for future discussions. If you are interested in reading this document, you can download it here: Any further questions contact Ken Cronin at
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When President Obama met with Tribal Leaders at the historic Tribal Nations Conference on November 5, 2009, the briefing materials included a 28-page document prepared by NTEC that addressed Tribal Environmental and Natural Resource issues. What makes this document unique is that it is a compilation of issues and concerns taken directly from representatives of over 60 Tribes specifically in preparation for the Conference. A wide and diverse range of issues is addressed, from requests for action on a national level to specific regional and local concerns. While not a comprehensive research paper, the document provides a fairly comprehensive national snapshot of tribal concerns about water, waste, fish and wildlife, climate change, etc., and addresses issues with several federal agencies, from the USEPA to the BIA to the Army Corps of Engineers.
NTEC Tribal Nations Environmental Briefing Document