TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH CIRCULAR Number E-C039 September 2002 Conference on Transportation Improvements Experiences Among Tribal, Local, State, and Federal Governments October 18–21, 2001 Albuquerque, New Mexico TRANSPORTATION NUMBER E-C039, SEPTEMBER 2002 RESEARCH ISSN 0097-8515 E-CIRCULAR Conference on Transportation Improvements Experiences Among Tribal, Local, State, and Federal Governments COMMITTEE ON HISTORIC AND ARCHEOLOGICAL PRESERVATION IN TRANSPORTATION (A1F05) SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIVE AMERICAN ISSUES IN TRANSPORTATION Kathleen H. Quinn and Ronald C. Hall, Cochairs David Albright Judith M. Espinosa Richard A. Rolland Elaine S. Brouillard Judith A. Holm Paul D. Schneider James D. Kozak Jon Williams, TRB Representative TRB website: Transportation Research Board www.TRB.org National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves as an independent adviser to the federal government on scientific and technical questions of national importance. The National Research Council, jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, brings the resources of the entire scientific and technical community to bear on national problems through its volunteer advisory committees. The Transportation Research Board is distributing this Circular to make the information contained herein available for use by individual practitioners in state and local transportation agencies, researchers in academic institutions, and other members of the transportation research community. The information in this Circular was taken directly from the submissions of the authors. This document is not a report of the National Research Council or of the National Academy of Sciences. Contents Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 PANEL PRESENTATIONS New Mexico Case Study Tribal Coordination/Organization Assistance in the New Mexico Middle Rio Grande Long-Range Major Transportation Investment Study.............................2 Edmund L. Gonzales, ELG Engineering Improving Tribal/State Relationships for Transportation Infrastructure Planning and Development ...............................................................................................7 James D. Kozak, New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department State Project Experiences in Tribal Coordination Hoover Dam Bypass Project: Perspectives on Government-to-Government Consultation: Presentation Notes...................................................................................10 Larry C. Smith, FHWA, Richard Arnold, Las Vegas Indian Center, Inc., and Dave Ruppert, National Parks Service Intermountain Region Navajo Nation/Arizona DOT Cooperation Native American Transportation Issues in Arizona: Coordination of State and Tribal Transportation Issues.............................................19 Jeff Swan, Arizona Department of Transportation The Indian Outreach Program.......................................................................................25 Ermalinda Gene, Arizona Department of Transportation Keynote Luncheon Speaker The Need for Tribal Participation in Transportation Policy.......................................27 Michael E. Marchand, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Arizona Case Study Improving Tribal Participation in the Statewide Transportation-Planning Process...................................................................................34 Mary Lynn Tischer, Arizona Department of Transportation Tribal Strategic Partnering Team in Arizona’s Planning and Programming Processes ..................................................................................................38 Donald R. Sneed, Sr., Arizona Department of Transportation Tribal Capacity and the Transportation Working Group...........................................44 Esther Corbett, Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. Tribal Consultation from the Historic Preservation Perspective................................48 Bettina H. Rosenberg, Arizona Department of Transportation Creating a Tribal GIS Road Data System.....................................................................51 Rita Thomas, The Navajo Nation Case Studies of State and Tribal Experiences Tribal Consultation Case Studies on the Spokane Reservation ..................................52 Bryan Flett, Spokane Tribe Culture Program Transportation Case Studies on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation, Washington.............................................................56 Walter Pacheco, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Washington Kawerak, Inc.: A Tribal Experience in the State of Alaska ........................................60 Julianne Stevenson, Kawerak, Inc. Federal Programs Perspective Updates on Federal Lands Highway Policy/Projects for Transportation System Improvements Affecting Indian and Alaska Natives ...........65 Paul Schneider, FHWA Department of Energy Tribal Consultation Protocols for Transporting Hazardous Materials ...............................................................................70 Judith Holm, U.S. Department of Energy Walden Point Road Project, Metlakatla, Alaska..........................................................74 Brian G. Allen, FHWA, and William Wilson, Metlakatla Indian Community WORKSHOP SESSIONS ...........................................................................................................77 Key Issues Identified..........................................................................................................77 Ideal Conditions.................................................................................................................78 Identified Barriers..............................................................................................................79 Next Steps..........................................................................................................................80 PUEBLO OF ACOMA FIELD TRIP ........................................................................................83 GLOSSARY..................................................................................................................................84 APPENDIXES Program..............................................................................................................................91 Conference Attendees ........................................................................................................96 WELCOME LETTERS Governor Gary E. Johnson...............................................................................................106 Cabinet Secretary Pete K. Rahn.......................................................................................108 Introduction ative American issues were brought to the Transportation Research Board’s Historic NPreservation Committee (A1F05) over 7 years ago. Traditional cultural properties are important to Native Americans, as are all aspects of transportation, including economic development, safety, right-of-way, sovereignty, jurisdiction, and training. The Subcommittee on Native American Issues in Transportation [A1F05(1)] was formed to facilitate discussion, research, and illustrations of best practices concerning transportation issues on tribal lands. The Subcommittee on Native American Issues in Transportation resolved at the 1999 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting to have a conference that focused on the complexity of broad transportation issues of importance for Native American nations. Nationally there appears to be a desire for effective governmental participation in transportation programs and projects affecting tribal government interests. How best to communicate, coordinate, and cooperate on mutual transportation issues and projects between tribal, local, state, and federal governments? Experience shows success in this field requires more than the good intentions of a few committed staff people. Many projects and programs fall short of their potential in their early outreach and coordination stage. The committee chose improving communication between governments as the topic for the conference. The best practice cases as told by experienced transportation professionals and tribal leaders illustrate how to begin effective government-to-government relationships. These cases demonstrate that it is always more economical and efficient to include tribes in the planning and needs assessment at the outset of a new project. Professionals who go through this process of strengthening tribal–state or tribal–federal relationships feel that it is “the right thing to do” and is the spirit and letter of the law. Successful case studies demonstrate that the best way to involve other parties in project ideas and have a comfortable resolution is to first have an ongoing relationship between the non-tribal and tribal professional transportation staff. This relationship is not a project-by-project relationship, but a respectful long-term working relationship based on neighboring sovereign nations speaking to one another about mutual concerns. Speakers suggest that all sides are responsible for knowing their counterparts and developing this professional transportation relationship. Tribal–state–federal relationships around transportation program management and operations issues are relatively recent phenomena. While