Meaningful Engagement: Improving and Expanding Tribal Engagement in Federal Emergency Response in the Pacific Northwest

Abstract

The Northwest Region (the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho) of the United States is home to 43 federally recognized treaty Tribes, who are resource co-managers within their traditional territories and have both decision-making power and sovereign legal rights. There is also a significant refinement and transportation of petroleum products (by rail, pipeline, and vessel) within this area and in our transboundary waters. In Washington alone, more than 20 billion gallons are moved through and across the state on an annual basis. The Northwest Area Committee (NWAC) and Region 10 Regional Response Team (RRT10), the federally mandated bodies which conduct oil pollution and hazardous materials spill response planning, are therefore robust and very active. Within the last decade, tribal engagement in the NWAC and RRT10 has expanded significantly; the RRT10 now has three official tribal members, and the NWAC has supported a Tribal Engagement Task Force for the past four years and is currently looking at transitioning it to a longer-term and more permanent sub-committee strategy. This presentation will discuss the following pieces of the efforts towards tribal engagement in the NWAC/RRT10: 1) The evolution of tribal engagement in the RRT10/NWAC and lessons learned from this process 2) A case study of the unique experience of the Makah Tribe's engagement with the greater response community including both becoming the first tribal member of the NWAC/RRT10 and the development of their memorandum of agreement with the US Coast Guard, and 3) Results from the 2019 Tribal Engagement Task Force's tribal feedback survey (sent out to all Tribes in the region) to identify barriers and strategies for improved meaningful tribal engagement. This reflects the commitment of the NWAC/RRT10 to improving tribal engagement by understanding; the results can not only inform partners in other regions but will inform the next phase of the NWAC/RRT10's approach to tribal engagement. The Northwest Area model for tribal engagement in oil spill planning, preparedness, and response is an important precedent for national and international engagement with Indigenous peoples in this arena.