Legislation Details

The purpose of this legislation is to support H.R. 8108 titled “Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act.” H.R. 8108 would prohibit public land sales containing a tribal cultural site, where a tribal nation retains a treaty or other reserved rights, or that contains a former reservation; require the U.S. Forest Services and Bureau of Land Management to offer the land at fair market value first to tribal governments with a historical connection to the land; require public land management agencies to provide tribal governments with meaningful public involvement opportunities in land use planning; include in the criteria, the presence of cultural sites and fulfilment of treaty obligations when public land managers consider land acquisition; and require a public land advisory board include at least one tribal representative. This legislation would also authorize the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, President of the Navajo Nation, and their designees, to advocate the Navajo Nation’s support of the Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act.