The US government says it is falling short on its legal duties to tribal nations

As federal agencies manage millions of acres of land critical to climate adaptation, wildlife, and water supplies, a new government report finds that they are falling short of their legal responsibilities to tribal nations.

“In treaties, tribes ceded millions of acres of their territories to the federal government in exchange for certain commitments,” the report read. Published in late January by the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, these commitments, through treaties, included services, protection, reservations, and for some tribes, hunting and fishing rights. These commitments have evolved into federal agencies engaging in government-to-government relationships with tribes on managing natural resources.

The report highlights the role tribes play in land and water stewardship, noting their effectiveness in managing natural and cultural resources and restoring habitat. Through treaties, tribes have also been able to apply traditional approaches to land and water management.

In 2021, the Biden administration issued a joint order through the departments of Agriculture and the Interior aimed at increasing tribal control over public lands to better protect natural and cultural resources. Since then, the Native American Rights Fund estimates tribes have entered into at least 400 cooperative land agreements with federal agencies.

Such arrangements typically take the form of agreements between tribes and federal agencies, including the Interior Department. These relationships range from consultation to co-stewardship agreements and co-management, in which tribes share decision-making authority over certain lands and waters. The GAO report recommends expanding authority for the Forest Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to enter into land and water agreements with tribes.

One successful example cited in the report involves the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Chippewa National Forest, where the use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge alongside Western science helped improve habitat for snowshoe hare, a species considered culturally significant to the tribe, and increase the population.

“Because the joint secretary order is still in effect, because agencies are still pursuing these agreements, and we know that tribes are very much interested in pursuing and expanding these types of agreements, it’s important for federal agencies to understand how many staff may have the appropriate expertise,” said Anna Maria Ortiz, the report’s author and team lead for natural resources at GAO. That includes understanding trust and treaty responsibilities and government-to-government relationships between tribes and the United States, she said.

Tribes told the GAO that agency staff often lacked familiarity with federal Indian law, treaty obligations, and government-to-government relations. Ortiz said employees across agencies have expressed interest in gaining the skills needed to navigate tribal affairs related to federal land and water management.

The report also examines staffing overhauls and mass layoffs driven by the Department of Government Efficiency, which sought to reduce government spending across federal agencies, including the interior and agriculture departments, in early 2025.

“If agencies lack the staff or resources to pursue these agreements, to build the relationships that facilitate these agreements, that’s going to get in the way of developing long-term partnerships with an eye to shared decision-making,” said Ortiz. 

The current fiscal year budget is expected to cut funding to several federal agencies and reduce staffing levels. That includes cuts of about 75 percent to the Bureau of Land Management’s wildlife habitat management program, as well as national monument and conservation management teams.

Staff interviewed at several federal agencies cited the influence of Traditional Ecological Knowledge — Indigenous knowledge systems that examine relationships within ecosystems — in wildfire and water management.

“Sometimes agencies may not understand the benefits of traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge, and how that can play into managing a resource like a forest, a marine sanctuary, or a fishery. And when we have these situations, it really slows down the development,” said Ortiz.

The use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in land restoration and management has been shown to improve ecosystems and biodiversity, helping mitigate the effects of climate change.

“In one way, recognition and the work of federal agencies to better respect, incorporate, and listen to that knowledge in their own decisions is how this is currently working,” said Monte Mills, director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law. “The other is where tribes themselves are involved in or can influence those decision-making processes.”

However, Mills cites the GAO’s report on current challenges, such as the stream of executive orders and agency policy changes, that influence and limit how these agreements happen now. 

“Whether that’s energy development, orders from the president and his officials declaring an energy or other emergency, or cutting staff, you name it, they’re not talking to tribes about it, they’re just doing it,” he said. “To respect and engage in a meaningful trust relationship, the basis of that relationship is incorporating, understanding, and respecting tribal interests and tribal sovereignty in the decisions that are made.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline The US government says it is falling short on its legal duties to tribal nations on Feb 6, 2026.