The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and 11 other federal agencies have signed a revised Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the sovereignty of Tribal nations to determine how to implement federal services within their communities.
The updated MOA was signed and went into effect on Oct. 7, the DOI announced at the time. The current MOA includes feedback from Tribal leaders on implementing Public Law 102-477; the previous MOA, signed in 2018, did not, the DOI reports.
"In 2017, Congress directed the Interior Department and federal partners to negotiate and execute an MOA to implement the 477 Program," the DOI states in the announcement. "Although agencies in the previous Administration signed an MOA in 2018, they did not provide an opportunity for Tribal input or consultation."
Tribal 477 plans give federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Natives communities the ability to decide how to streamline delivery of certain federal services to their communities, according to the announcement.
The Office of Family Assistance, which, works with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal nations to improve access to federal programs, states on its website that the law "allows Tribes to integrate employment, training, and related services programs into a single program with a single budget.” A former acting deputy director, Spike Bighorn, in 2019 called the 477 programs "a critical program."
The MOA was signed by the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Transportation and Veterans Affairs. The National Congress of American Indians, an American Indian and Alaska Native rights organization, represented the Tribal nations.
“Supporting Tribal sovereignty is at the core of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to Tribal Nations," DOI Sec. Deb Haaland said in the announcement. "Today’s signing is an example of that commitment.”
“I am grateful to the Tribal leaders who for years have made their voices heard on the need to improve implementation of Public Law 102-477," Haaland said, "and whose efforts will create better jobs and economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples.”
