5 minute read
USACE’s Albuquerque District Makes Moves to Better Serve Tribal Nations
from America's Engineers: The People, Programs, and Projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers '24-'25
BY ALBUQUERQUE DISTRICT PUBLIC AFFAIRS
SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION Albuquerque District
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Albuquerque District has been making strides toward better serving tribal nations and strengthening relationships with USACE’s tribal partners.
For several years, the Albuquerque District’s tribal liaison office has been meeting with tribes to better understand their needs and appealing to senior USACE and U.S. Army leaders for policy updates that will grow the types of projects USACE can do for tribal nations and make it easier for tribal nations to work with USACE.
These efforts led to then-Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor visiting pueblos in the Albuquerque District area of responsibility several times during 2023 to inform his policy decisions, and culminated in the signing of a historic partnership agreement under the newly updated Tribal Consultation Policy.
In light of this new progress, the Albuquerque District held a Tribal Nations Open House at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center this year in June, where more than 30 representatives from 18 different tribal nations attended. The event focused on strengthening partnerships and providing updates about recent policy changes and how USACE can apply those updates to better support tribal nations.
A point of emphasis for the open house was to talk about recent changes to USACE’s Tribal Consultation Policy, which was updated in December 2023 to include authorization for USACE to do cultural resource protection work under the Tribal Partnership Program.
advertisement
“I’m excited about some pretty major changes within the Corps of Engineers to our policy and our guidance across our different programs that will affect our delivery, in what I would say are very positive ways, toward service to tribal nations,” said Jeremy Decker, tribal liaison, Albuquerque District.
Some other key USACE policy updates include a new requirement for every district across USACE to have a tribal liaison on staff, changes to the Tribal Partnership Program cost-share waiver distribution, and guidance regarding early consultation with tribes.
“There were a series of listening sessions in 2022 and 2023, where all 574 federally recognized tribes were invited to provide input so policy makers could better understand what issues tribes are having and how to improve collaboration,” Decker said.
“It’s the start of what I’m hoping is a larger culture change within the agency,” he said. “There is a much greater emphasis on speaking with tribes and doing more than just on-the-site coordination, but really collaborating and consulting from the start in a way that’s helpful and meaningful.”
During the event, tribal nations participants had an opportunity to meet with Albuquerque District representatives from several functional areas including Civil Works, Emergency Management, Environmental, Contracting, Regulatory, and the Tribal Nations Technical Center of Expertise.
The opportunity to talk with subject-matter experts directly was helpful for participants to seek information about their unique challenges, said Rosanna Jumbo-Fitch, Navajo Nation Chinle Chapter president.
“We had a recent emergency flooding event just last year in Chinle, so we’ve been working closely with the Corps and their advance measures response and also their flood mitigation technical assistance,”
Jumbo-Fitch said. “The reason why we came here is to further review what additional options are available. We’re mainly interested in the Civil Works Division and what we can do to eliminate the risk of severe flooding.”
The Albuquerque District and the Pueblo of Isleta entered a partnership agreement to begin a cultural preservation study for the historic Pottery Mound site, June 26, 2024.
“I personally want to thank the Army Corps of Engineers for all their hard work they have done,” said Pueblo of Isleta Gov. Max Zuni. “I really appreciate it, and I look forward to the accomplishment and the program we’re going to do now.”
Entering the agreement is the first step in beginning a comprehensive study of erosion at the Pottery Mound and evaluating what solutions can be put in place to protect the site.
Excessive bank erosion is causing immense damage to the Pottery Mound. The Pottery Mound is regarded as a significant cultural and historical resource that many fear will be lost completely if erosion continues to set the conditions for more water damage.
The Pottery Mound study is the first-ever study USACE will conduct under the updated guidelines to the Tribal Partnership Program, allowing USACE to do work specifically for cultural resource protection.
“It’s very important work, as obviously you have heard today from the pueblo’s leadership about the need to protect their cultural resources and their sacred sites … so to be able to use the Corps of Engineers’ skills and our experience in managing water resources to protect against flooding and erosion and protect this long-term archaeological site of world importance is just amazing. So happy to be part of today’s event,” Connor said.
Visit www.spa.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Tribal-Program to learn more about USACE Alubuquerque District Tribal Programs. AE
–
Visit www.Americas-Engineers.com to sign up for a free print edition of our annual publication and to join our weekly newsletter.
