U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Navajo and Apache Tribal leaders met recently to discuss challenges the Tribal areas face and how the Department of Transportation can help.
The main message shared was that the Tribal Nations need money to fix the roads and "patch up the broken agreement that federal government has failed to maintain," according to a Nov. 17 Indian Country Today report. Buttigieg was in the area to tout investments in local communities under President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed in 2021.
"The so-called federal responsibility in not met for these tribes," New Mexico Department of Transportation Tribal Liaison Ron Shutiva said, according to Indian Country Today. "That federal responsibility, our great white father, is supposed to be taking care of all of our needs within Indian Country because they took the land that we have away from us."
Shutiva is from Acoma Pueblo, and his message was echoed in comments from representatives from the pueblos, Apache bands and Navajo Nation, Indian Country Today. It was noted funding is needed for new road projects, poorly maintained roads and problems with being excluded from federal grants, denying Tribes access to millions of dollars.
While tribes said the federal government could help with even basic necessities, such as ground salt for icy roads and updated equipment that can assist with general maintenance, they also expressed concerns that planning and development of shovel-ready projects requires expertise they do not all have, so federal funding for such projects could skip Tribal Nations in New Mexico, Indian Country Today reported.
“The tribes are going to miss the boat because of infrastructure planning,” Chris Little, Mescalero Apache Tribe public works director, said, according to Indian Country Today. “There’s two years we lost with funding. So there would have to be some type of mechanism that when we start to process, we’re going to be assured that the funding is going to be there.”
According to Indian Country Today, another concern is that rising prices are not allowing federal dollars to go as far when it comes to road maintenance. Concerns were also expressed over bureaucratic mechanisms that limit the scope of their road projects.
Buttigieg acknowledged the problems and said his office is working to fix them, Indian Country Today reported.
“We’ll be thinking about this question of the (Tribal dollars) match, which we’re hearing a lot, and what we can do to try to create the right kind of flexibility there,” Buttigieg said, according to Indian Country Today. “I do not know how you do it with the formula dollars for maintaining the number of lane mile roads that exist out there.”
Buttigieg commented on making a renewed effort to reach these Tribal Nations in a Nov. 17 Twitter post.
"We look forward to working together with Navajo Nation leaders to bring historic transportation investments and resources to Tribal communities," Buttigieg said on Twitter.
