Real change cannot be accomplished without free, prior, and informed consent from tribes and Native communities. We encourage the current administration to take action with:
- The adoption of free, prior and informed consent of Native Nations, traditional societies, ceremonial grounds, and Indigenous spiritual leaders as a principle that guides sacred places and cultural protection in policies, regulations, agencies, and the law.
- Equal distribution of authority in public lands management and administration with Native Nations, traditional societies, ceremonial grounds, and Indigenous spiritual leaders.
- The development of Indigenous data governance structures with the free, prior and informed consent of Native Nations, traditional societies, ceremonial grounds, Indigenous spiritual leaders, and Indigenous Peoples to protect culturally sensitive information, Indigenous knowledge, and Indigenous intellectual and cultural property rights.
- Recognition of Native Nations, traditional societies, ceremonial grounds, Indigenous spiritual leaders, and Indigenous Peoples as experts of our own cultures, sacred places, burial places, and on all cultural matters.
- Honoring and upholding the treaty rights and inherent sovereignty of Native Nations.
- Acknowledgement that sacred lands and waterways have inherent and natural rights and should have the same rights as a person.
- Enacting full protections for sacred places, including, but not limited to: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Bear Butte, Bears Ears, Black Hills, Coldwater Springs, Greater Chacoan Landscape, Mauna Kea, Menominee River & Sixty Islands Area, Missouri River, Nantucket Sound, Oak Flat & Apache Leap, Pipestone National Monument, San Francisco Peaks, Serpent Mound, Wind Cave National Park, and all other sacred places.
- Eliminate the threats to sacred places from pollution and destructive practices from extractive industries, including: Back Forty Mine, Pebble Mine, Keystone XL Pipeline, Dakota Access Pipeline, Mariner East Pipeline, Rio Tinto, Enbridge Line 5 and Line 3 pipelines, Shasta Dam, Snake River Dams, and other harmful industry and practices to Indigenous sacred places.
- Investigate and stop the devastating effects that extractive industry development have on Indigenous women, including physical and sexual violence (rape, sexual assault, sexual assault of minors, and sex trafficking), resulting from Man Camps and dramatic increases in population without sufficient law enforcement. Not only are these horrific crimes against women, but they violate the sanctity of our sacred places.
- Conversations between Indigenous spiritual leaders and the President to discuss responsibilities and necessary actions for sacred places protection, global climate change, and racial justice.
- Update Executive Order 13175 to include: “free, prior and informed consent” of Native Nations, traditional societies, ceremonial grounds, and Indigenous spiritual leaders; require agency-wide education of Native Nations, Indigenous Peoples, and all laws that pertain to sacred places protection and repatriation; and require inter-agency and intra-agency coordination of federal laws pertaining to sacred places protection, repatriation, and Indigenous cultural practices.
