Tribal Relations

Message from the Forest Supervisor

The roughly 1.5 million acres of land known as the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest are the homelands to several federally recognized tribes who were removed to reservations more than one hundred years ago. That removal did not remove their connection to these lands as places of spiritual significance and important history as well as a storehouse of foods, medicines, and functional products.

Court-affirmed treaties from the 1800’s recognize the rights of Ojibwe tribes to hunt, fish, and gather on these lands that were ceded by the tribes. The Forest participates in a 1998 MOU between those tribes and Region 9 of the Forest Service, which continues to provide guidance on how those rights are implemented by recognizing tribal sovereignty and their ability to self-regulate the retained rights.

Most of the lands of the Forest County Potawatomi Community (FCPC) tribe lie within the administrative boundaries of the national forest and are interspersed with national forest lands. The forest participates in a 2016 MOU between FCPC, and the Forest Service articulates agreements that support tribal interests with the Forest Service’s intention of assisting the Tribe and being a good neighbor.

The Forest Service shares a boundary with the Menominee Nation which has a long history and international recognition for its sustainable forest management practices. National forest lands are home to many culturally significant sites of Menominee origin which are protected.

While we carry out our mission to provide public values and core ecosystem functions on the national forest, we do so humbly and with the increasing recognition that our tribal communities have vested interests and rights to be met, rich traditional ecological knowledge to contribute, and that they can be valuable partners in our mission.

Nation to Nation Relationships

The Federal government and Indian tribes have a unique relationship that is “government-to-government.” The basis for this is in the constitution of the United States (Article 1, Section 8) which recognized tribes as sovereign. The Forest Service is committed to this relationship with federally recognized Tribal governments.

National Forests have important historical, spiritual, and cultural significance for Tribes. Forests often serve as a source of traditional medicines, food, firewood, and basketry materials. Consultation with tribes provides an invaluable means of obtaining expert advice, ideas, information, and diverse opinions from Native Americans in an effort to work together collaboratively to achieve positive outcomes for ecosystem health and cultural values.

Mission and Goals

• Fulfill the unique trust relationship and obligations the United States Government has with federally recognized Indian tribes
• Assist in establishing and maintaining a mutual and beneficial partnership with our American Indian neighbors
• Maintain a government-to-government relationship with federally recognized tribes
• Implement our projects and activities honoring and fulfilling Tribal trust responsibilities on the National Forest lands
• Administer projects and activities to be sensitive to traditional Indian religious beliefs and practices

The Tribal Relations Program Focuses on:

• Reserved Tribal Treaty Rights – The Forest consults and works directly with 11 Ojibwe Tribes who signed treaties in 1836, 1837, 1842, and 1854 with the United States government to honor their reserved treaty rights
• Consultation – The Forest consults and works directly with sovereign Native American Tribes, located in Wisconsin, as well as surrounding states, who have an interest on Forest Service activities within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
• Technical Support – Tribal relations staff provide support to Line and Staff Officers to better understand current events and emerging issues; and provide advice regarding official correspondence with tribes, political relationships between tribal governments, in drafting planning documents, and when creating MOU's or MOA's with tribes.