Tribal Relations
As stewards of National Forest Lands, the USDA Forest Service is committed to strengthening relationships with American Indian Tribes that have lived in the Pacific Northwest since time immemorial.
Indigenous cultures, traditions, and knowledge help define the Pacific Northwest, and regional Tribes continue to maintain deep connections to their ancestral homelands. We actively collaborate with Tribes to make effective land and resource management decisions, from fuels reduction to the preservation of sacred sites, to conserve resources for generations to come.
“Understanding the perspective and wisdom Indigenous People have also gives us an opportunity to reflect on what is wrong with our current policies and practices and what role we can play in trying to right those wrongs.” - Forest Service Chief, Randy Moore.
The agency recognizes American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians as people with distinct cultures and traditional values. American Indians and Alaskan Natives also have a unique legal and political relationship with the government of the United States. This relationship is defined by history, treaties, statutes, executive orders, policies, court decisions, and the US Constitution.