Tribal Relations
NOAA's Tribal Relations Team
NOAA is committed to developing policies and procedures that improve its relations and cooperative activities with Federally-recognized Indian tribes on a government-to-government basis. NOAA’s Tribal Relations Team works to ensure an accountable process for meaningful and timely consultations on policies with tribal implications. Please click here for a list of NOAA's Tribal Team Members [PDF].
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the National Ocean Service (NOS), along with NOAA's General Counsel's Office (GC), have created a Traditional Ecological Knowledge Guidance for regional and field staff. This guidance, developed as a continuation of NOAA's commitment to engage meaningfully with Federally recognized tribes. This guidance was built upon NMFS, NOS, and GC in the regions to build upon the NOAA Tribal Consultation Handbook in providing guidance on how to incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into decision making.
FEBRUARY 2020
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (US Department of the Interior) announcement on the availability of funding through the Tribal Resilience Program (Program)
The Program will provide funding for tribal activities that support tribal adaptation and resilience planning, ocean and coastal management planning, and relocation, managed retreat, or protect-in-place planning and design activities for coastal and riverine communities. The Program aims to support Tribal Nations that need adaptation planning support and decision-making information to prepare for extreme events and harmful environmental trends that impact tribal treaty and trust resources, economies, infrastructure, and human health and welfare.
The solicitation is for federally-recognized tribes and tribal organizations* (as defined by 25 U.S.C. Section 5304(1)). Other entities may participate as sub-grantees. The solicitation is available on grants.gov, Opportunity #: BIA-TRP2020-0001 and is also on the BIA Tribal Resilience Program site.
Please see the BIA Tribal Resilience Program site for more information (fillable cover pages, fillable
application forms for Categories 3, 5, and 6, FAQs, helpful regional contacts, summaries of previous
awards, etc.).
CATEGORIES OF AVAILABLE FUNDING- There are seven total award categories.
Adaptation Planning (Categories 1-3)
Category 1. Trainings and Workshops (maximum: $150,000)
Category 2. Adaptation Planning (maximum: $150,000)
Category 3. Travel Support for Adaptation Planning (maximum: $15,000)
Ocean and Coastal Management Planning (Categories 4-5)
Category 4. Ocean and Coastal Management Planning (maximum: $150,000)
Category 5. Travel Support - Ocean & Coastal (maximum: $15,000)
Capacity Building (Category 6)
Category 6. Capacity Building for Scoping Efforts to Support future Category 2 Proposal Development (maximum: $65,000)
Relocation, Managed Retreat, or Protect-in-Place Planning (Category 7)
Category 7. Planning for Relocation, Managed Retreat, or Protect-in-Place Activities for Coastal and Riverine Communities (maximum: $150,000)
Additional details, including evaluation criteria, are described in the Notice of Funding (i.e., Request for Proposals or Solicitation).
Proposal Deadline: Monday, March 2, 2020, by 5:00 p.m. Alaska Time / 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Send completed proposals to resilience.funding@bia.gov or by hard copy to:
Ms. Jo Ann Metcalfe, Attention: Tribal Resilience Program
Grant Officer, Central Office Acquisitions
Bureau of Indian Affairs
12220 Sunrise Valley Dr.
Reston, VA 20191
Tribal Resource Guide to the Department of Commerce
The U.S. Department of Commerce is pleased to make available the Tribal Resource Guide to the Department of Commerce. This guide is an important first step in revamping the Department’s work with tribes to spur even greater collaboration with tribes and native business enterprises. In addition, the guide introduces the Secretary's new Senior Advisor for Native American Affairs, the policy of the Department regarding tribes (which include references to the United States’ trust responsibility to the tribes and native peoples of the United States and the advances tribes have made in the Self-Determination Era), and includes contact information for each of the bureaus’ tribal liaisons in order to make it easier for tribes to interact with the Department. In addition this guide includes working links to other resources (web pages, our tribal consultation policy, etc.) within NOAA and the Department.