Partnerships in Identification Efforts Agencies were asked to explain how they have employed partnerships to assist in the identification and evaluation of historic properties over the reporting period. Partnerships, in the form of cooperative agreements between federal agencies, states, and Tribes, can leverage limited federal resources and provide opportunities for collaborative approaches to identification with nonfederal entities and marginalized communities. Agencies reported working with other agencies, Tribes, local communities, students, and interested parties to consult on and perform identification efforts during the reporting period.
TRIBAL PARTNERSHIPS Federal agencies reported that partnerships with Tribes in identification and evaluation efforts have improved their efforts to identify sites and update existing information. Increased coordination and collaboration with Tribes, and incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge in the identification process, leads to more comprehensive identification and greater benefits to historic properties.
HIGHLIGHTS
1917 U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Tulsa, OK (Paul Kivett/GSA)
» DOE at the Idaho National Laboratory Site reported the adoption of an agreement with interested Tribes, involving them in the inventory and evaluation of archaeological sites, Section 106 and Section 110, research projects, and regular coordination meetings. Draft archaeological site records that document Native American cultural sites are shared with Tribal cultural resource staff for review and consultation on evaluating significance before the records are finalized and submitted to the Idaho SHPO for concurrence. Further information on this partnership is provided in a Case Study on page 42. » Starting in 2021, TVA’s Tribal Cultural History Project has sought to create geographic historical narratives of Tribal presence in the Tennessee Valley through collaboration with Tribes. TVA works with interested Tribes to record their perspectives on the historical and archaeological data collected in the TVA service area. Oral history interviews developed in collaboration with Tribal members are designed so that information from them and the derived GIS datasets (to the extent permissible by the Tribe whose history is being discussed) can be readily adapted for use in the cultural history sections of archaeology reports. The narratives will also serve as resources to inform future planning, project development, and Tribal consultation activities by TVA. » The USACE San Francisco District is incorporating new Indigenous Knowledge and environmental justice guidance into its Section 106 consultations to improve identification efforts and allow for greater environmental and cultural justice outcomes during project planning. For example, the San Francisco District is utilizing recommendations from the Tribal biologist for the Dry Creek Rancheria of Pomo Indians to improve the selection and placement of plants for the Dry Creek Restoration project. » For the USACE Seattle, Portland, and Walla Walla Districts, partnerships with Tribes are essential to protecting historic properties through the Federal Columbia River Power system (FCRPS). Through the FCRPS Cultural Resource Program, local Tribes, USACE, BPA, the Washington SHPO, and other cooperating land managing agencies at the state and federal level consult on Section 106 for undertakings associated with the operations and maintenance of dams and reservoirs. Recently, the Seattle District contracted with Tribes to provide ethnographic knowledge and context to support efforts to identify and treat Traditional Cultural Properties at all three FCRPS reservoirs. These efforts have included interviews with Tribal Elders, translation of historic documents from Indigenous and European languages, digitization of Tribal ethnographic data, and the creation of GIS projects and associated digital story maps.
INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS Collaboration among federal agencies was highlighted by several agencies in their identification efforts. Agencies such as the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), which only has one qualified cultural resources professional on staff, reported forming interagency agreements in identification and evaluation efforts, allowing the agencies to share expertise and work toward common goals. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) entered into two interagency agreements during the reporting period. The interagency agreement with the USACE was established to evaluate 14 VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) for eligibility for the National Register and to nominate eligible properties for the National Register. With this agreement, VA will have evaluated most of the VAMCs that have been constructed prior to 1973. The evaluations and nominations are expected to be finalized in 2024-2025. The second interagency agreement involved an NHL study of the Tuskegee VAMC in Alabama. The Tuskegee campus was established after World War I to provide medical treatment to African American veterans who, due to government segregation policies at that time, were denied treatment at most hospitals. NPS, in partnership with VA, has executed an agreement with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History to complete the study, which is expected in 2025.
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