Fisheries and Habitat Conservation
strives to fulfill Federal trust responsibilities
to Native Americans
through several of its programs, including Fish and
Wildlife Management Assistance, the National Fish Hatchery
System, Alaska Subsistence Management, and the Sikes
Act. There are 572 Federally-recognized tribes in the
United States, including 224 village groups in Alaska. “Federally
recognized” means these tribes and governments
have a special, legal relationship with the U.S. government.
The US Fish and Wildlife service takes these commitments
and responsibilities to work with Native Americans
very seriously. The Native American Policy of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, dated June 1994, articulates
general principles that guide the Service’s government-to-government
relationship with Native American governments in the
conservation of these resources.
Native American peoples have an ancient respect of
the land and its resources, which provides an invaluable
perspective to joint aquatic resource conservation
and management efforts. Restoration and recovery efforts
for many species cannot be accomplished without active
Tribal partnership, as some of the most important fish
and wildlife habitats in the Nation (more than 55 million
acres) are managed or influenced by Tribes. Visit the
links below to learn more.
The Fish
and Wildlife Management Assistance program assistance
to Native Americans
The Alaska
Subsistence Management Program
To
find out more about working with Native American
Tribes at the National level, and locate
Regional Native American Liaisons, visit the Fish
and Wildlife Service's Native
American Liaison page.
For
more information on Fish
and Wildlife Service grants available to Federally-recognized Native American
Tribes,
visit:
Additional resources:
The Native
American Fish and Wildlife Society:
The
Environmental Protection Agency, American Indian
Environmental Office
To
locate a local
Tribal Government, visit:
To
find out about specific Tribes