The USDA’s Office of Tribal Relations is still soliciting comments on a draft department-wide policy that will guide future consultation and collaboration efforts and serve as a guide for all USDA agencies as they work tribes.
In a letter to tribal leaders dated Jan. 25, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that his “focus is to create a policy that moves USDA toward better practices regarding future consultations and to promote policy development within the department that includes collaboration and consultation from tribes.”
While the USDA has received some input already from tribes as a result of outreach, it will welcome additional input.
All comments must be provided to the agency by March 25. They can be submitted by email, tribalconsultation@usda.gov, or mail, Janie Hipp, Senior Advisor for Tribal Relations, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Suite 500A, Washington, D.C., 20250.
To learn more about the policy, go to: http://www.usda.gov/documents/ConsultationPlan.pdf
A majority of the Tribal Councils, our tribal governance across the United States have no mission or vision for its membership. Members of the Tribal Councils are only interested in stuffing their pockets with tribal monies or federal dollars that are to benefit the membership that is acquired through head count. Mr. Vilsack should be requesting comments from the grassroots people–we are the ones that know first hand our needs and solutions to our problems inclusive of agricultural needs that directly affect our livelihood. Both the tribal councils and its counterpart, the BIA have been unfruitful just ask Senator Rand Paul, an eye surgeon who wants to scalp the BIA, total elimination of this entity ignoring treaty obligations of the federal government (in his dream) in his ruthless ambition to eliminate this country’s deficit in one year, but then it’s a sobering fact. Senator McCain in 1994 labelled the BIA “the worst agency”. So what”s new.
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