President Obama met Thursday with representatives of the 400 federally recognized tribal nations in a conference he called a "unique and historic event, the largest and most widely attended gathering of tribal leaders in our history." At the meeting Obama signed a memorandum directing every Cabinet agency to give him a plan within 90 days of how it would implement an executive order from then-President Clinton calling for "regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration" between tribal nations and the federal government.
"Over the past nine years, only a few agencies have made an effort to implement that executive order, and it's time for that to change," Obama said. "After all, there are challenges we can only solve by working together, and we face a serious set of issues right now." The president said tribal nations do better when they make their own decisions, and he believes the federal government can't and shouldn't dictate policy for Indian Country, the Environmental News Service reports. Many tribal leaders took the opportunity to share concerns about environmental and land use issues affecting their tribes with the president. (Read more)
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