Tribal governments and their members are an essential part of our nation’s emergency management team. Effective relationships with tribes are necessary to fulfill FEMA’s mission of working together to improve our nation’s disaster preparedness and response. FEMA is committed to supporting Indian Country in its efforts to build more resilient and better prepared communities.
Along with the need to ensure the safety of tribal communities and tribal lands in the face of disasters, FEMA shares the U.S. government’s unique government-to-government relationship with federally recognized tribes. FEMA acknowledges the sovereignty of federally recognized tribes and is committed to enhancing our working relationship with tribal governments to improve emergency and disaster responsiveness throughout Indian Country.
Highlights & Updates
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published its Tribal Declarations Pilot Guidance in January 2017, commencing the pilot phase of tribal declarations under this new guidance. The pilot guidance describes the process tribal governments will use to request Stafford Act declarations and the criteria FEMA will use to evaluate direct tribal declaration requests and make recommendations to the President. The pilot guidance incorporates key changes that are responsive to the comments FEMA received from tribes during three tribal consultation periods. Click here to view more information on the Tribal Declarations Pilot Guidance.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) updated its agency-wide tribal policy that outlines a framework for nation-to-nation relations with federally recognized tribal governments that recognizes tribal sovereignty, self-governance, and FEMA’s trust responsibility consistent with applicable authorities. Please visit the Tribal Policies & Legislation page to view the updated policy.