Transit Manager's Toolkit

“Tribal sovereignty refers to the right of American Indians and Alaska Natives to govern themselves. The U.S. Constitution recognizes Indian Tribes as distinct governments and they have, with a few exceptions, the same powers as federal and state governments to regulate their internal affairs. Sovereignty for Tribes includes the right to establish their own form of government, determine membership requirements, enact legislation, and establish law enforcement and court systems.” An Issue of Sovereignty, National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013

“The Constitution gives authority in Indian affairs to the federal government, not to the state governments. Just as the United States recognizes states as governments, it also considers Indian Tribes as governments, not as special interest groups or non-governmental entities. Some states have explicitly recognized the governmental status of Indian Tribes through various state recognition processes.” An Issue of Sovereignty, National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013

Tribes govern as independent sovereign nations on a par with the U.S. federal government. The significance of Tribal sovereignty and the impact that it has on a Tribe’s ability to provide necessary transportation services to its community cannot be overstated. As of this writing, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) lists 574 sovereign tribal nations (variously called Tribes, Nations, Bands, Pueblos, communities, and Native villages) with a formal nation-to-nation relationship with the US government. These Tribal governments are legally defined as “federally recognized Tribes.” As of the publication of this Toolkit, 229 of these Tribal Nations are located in Alaska; the remaining 345 Tribes are located in 35 other states. “In total, tribal governments exercise jurisdiction over lands that would make Indian Country the fourth largest state in the nation.” National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Federally-recognized Indian Tribes or Alaska Native villages, groups, or communities are identified by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) annual Federal Register listing of Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. BIA’s map of the regions, Indian Lands of Federally Recognized Tribes of the United States, offers a clear visual representation of the Tribal Nations and is updated regularly. 

As will be explained in more detail in the Tribal Administration and Funding section that follows, a Tribe must be “federally recognized” to be eligible for federal transportation funds.

Tribal Self-Governance and Self-Determination – Tribal Self-Governance refers to the authority of Tribes to self-administer certain federal programs and services for its Tribal members. This authority comes from three major pieces of legislation: The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (ISDEAA), as amended, 25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq. and the Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. 5362 et seq., and the Practical Reforms and Other Goals To Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination for Indian Tribes Act of 2019 (The PROGRESS Act), Public Law 116-180, Summary: Public Law No: 116-180 (10/21/2020).  ISDEAA describes “self-determination” as the ability of tribal governments to determine how to build and sustain their own communities.  The PROGRESS Act, signed into law on October 21, 2020, amends the ISDEAA for the purpose of replacing the current Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Project with the Tribal Self-Governance Program. The PROGRESS Act also:

• Revises the Department of the Interior's (DOI) process for approving self-governance compacts and funding agreements with tribes. 
• DOI must negotiate contracts and funding agreements to maximize implementation of the self-governance policy. 
• Sets forth requirements for tribes participating in self-governance with respect to conflicts of interest, audits, redesign and consolidation of programs, retrocession of programs, non-duplication of funding, and records.
• Funding agreements must include provisions for DOI to monitor the performance of trust functions by the tribe and to reassume a program and funding under specified circumstances.
• Tribes participating in self-governance may elect to assume some federal responsibilities with respect to certain construction projects.
• Prohibits obligating a tribe to continue performance of a compact or funding agreement that provides insufficient funding.  

As of this writing, the DOI’s Office of the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (AS-IA) Office of Self-Governance (OSG) reports that Self-Governance Tribes represent approximately 50 percent of all Federally recognized Tribes nationwide. 

For more information about the Tribal Self-Governance Program, please see the DOI AS-IA’s Office of Self-Governance website. In addition to information about how to apply to the Tribal Self-Governance Program, this site also contains updated lists of Self-Governance Tribes.   

The Dear Tribal Leader Letter: Proposed Membership for the PROGRESS Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee offers additional insight into future revisions to ISDEAA’s self-governance provisions as required by the PROGRESS Act. 

Tribal Band Autonomy – Tribal band autonomy refers to the idea that Tribes are unique. There should be no expectation that any two Tribal governments will function in the same manner. “Many tribes have constitutions, others operate under articles of association or other bodies of law, and some have found a way to combine their traditional systems of government within a modern governmental framework.  Some do not operate under any of these acts but are nevertheless organized under documents approved by the Secretary of the Interior.  Contemporary Tribal governments are usually, but not always, modeled upon the federal system of the three branches:  Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.” (Tribal Government: Powers, Rights, and Authorities, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Frequently Asked Questions. 2017. No longer online. Last accessed March 2024).

Self-government is essential if Tribal communities are to continue to protect their unique cultures and identities. Tribal nations have the inherent power to govern all matters involving their citizens, as well as a range of issues in Indian Country. Tribal nations form their governments either by election of members to a governing council as provided in a tribal nation’s constitution or, in some cases, by elders choosing the Tribal nations’ leaders in a traditional process. Each Tribal nation generally has one elected chairperson, president, chief, or governor who is the recognized leader of the nation and who has authority to act as such when dealing with federal government. Many Tribal nations have organized their governments under the auspices of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, and the Secretary of the Interior approves their constitutions and amendments. (Tribal Nations and the United States: An Introduction -National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), 2020) 

Additional insight into the organization of today’s tribal governments, including the governing bodies of Alaska native communities, is available from the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) report: Tribal Nations and the United States: An Introduction, Updated February, 2020)