There are 562 federally recognized sovereign Tribal Governments within the United States.  This means there are over one hundred Tribal Governments for every one state.  The United States per treaties signed in good faith in the 1800's directed many federal agencies to have federal responsibliites to Tribal Governments to maintain the government to government relationships agreed to in writing.  Since Tribal Governments were only allowed the ability to perfrom their own Emergency Management functions since 2000 funding to maintain a full-time Tribal Emergency Manager on the Reservations has been very much lacking.  The EMPG grants that states receive usually are intended to go county or cities of the first class emergency managers and not Tribal Emergency Managers.  Even if Tribal Governments would be allowed EMPG grants it still wouldn't fund a full time Tribal Emergency Manager.  Many Tribal Governments operate successful gaming operations that can fund their own full time Emergency Managers but many are located in very remote areas in which their gaming operations can only fund their basic Tribal Government operations and not much more.  Those Tribes could very much benefit from increased funding oppertunities from DHS-FEMA to help fund a full time Tribal Emergency Manager.  Indian Health Service operates a GSA shared cost program for ambulances to assist Tribal EMS agencies it would very helpful if GSA could operated a similiar program for Tribal Emergency Management for which the shared cost GSA program would supply a fully equipped Emergency Management SUV (emergency lights, siren, incident command cabinets, tough book computer, basic reflective stripping) that can be turned back to GSA for an newer equipped vehicle after so many years.  This would allow Tribal Emergency Managers to have access to a vehicle to meet their emergency management needs than to operated a vehicle that they will operated till it rusts or dies out.  Finally the Stafford Act for emergencies needs to be updated to allow the recognition of the soverign status of the 562 Tribal Governments the ability to declare emergencies on Tribal lands and receive federally funding for response and recovery after an emergency on their own than having to have be included or at times not included in the states emergency declaration.

Why the contribution is important

Because the 562 federally recognized Tribal Governments need to have the funding resources to obtain the same level of preparedness level as the counties or states which they reside which many of the Tribal governments are trying to achieve but lack of certain type of funding is not allowing them to do this.

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servantheart
Posted by servantheart September 01, 2009 at 06:15PM
There are 562 federally recognized sovereign Tribal Governments within the United States. This means there are over one hundred Tribal Governments for every one state. hmmm; 562 tribal governments divided by one hundred equals 5.62 states. And all this time I thought we had 50 States in the United States; but if there are 562 sovereign Tribal Governments and only 50 States then there can't possibly be over 100 Tribal Governments for every one state, the math is not there for it unless some mighty big assumptions are made
dacrowley
Posted by dacrowley September 01, 2009 at 07:09PM
Unfortunatly, I am somewhat ignorant of exact laws govorning tribal lands. Of course tribal bodies must be perpared for any disasters that strike just as well as any town. It sounds like to me though, the areas that you're looking for funding for are smaller rural tribal regions. Most small rural towns lack full-time Emergency Managers. Many accept that responsibility as a collateral duty.
fcrowe
Posted by fcrowe September 01, 2009 at 10:29PM
Although I cannot speak for the federal government, there seems to be an attempt to segregate additional grant funding for Tribal Governments. The FY 2009 SHSP Tribal provides supplemental funding to directly eligible tribes to help strengthen their communities against risks associated with potential terrorist attacks. Additionally through the USDA, the Rural Development, through its community facilities program, provides funding for the Rural Emergency Responders Initiative to specifically strengthen the ability of rural communities to respond to local emergencies. The community facilities program funds are used to support rural emergency responder efforts by financing needed equipment and services. These funds are available to public bodies, non-profit organizations, and recognized Indian tribes.
sophiabeym
Posted by sophiabeym September 03, 2009 at 03:49PM
I understand the point that 562 Sovereign Tribal Nations are in need of funding directly from the Federal Government as established by treaties; however, I am directly responsible for 21 Pueblos, 2 Tribes and 2 Nations in my state and have not had overall interest or commitment from Tribal governments for EM support. The range of capacity for EM is from highly developed to completely undeveloped EM programs. I have worked to develop mentorships between the two and have had minor success with some and WONDERFUL success with others. I have had recent experiences in attempting to provide a large amount of funding for EM activities only to have the Tribe miss the deadline, not return frantic phone calls and ignore emails seeking action on funding. Solve the apathy problem with Tribal leadership. It's all up to the Tribal leaders and in my opinon - they sense no value in attending FREE classes in EM. Tribal leaders cry about no funding but won't take advantage of FREE training to learn more about thier responsiblities to thier communities in EM. Another point I'd like to make is the term "directly eligible Tribe" is defined as a Tribe with Fire/Police departments - many Tribes do not have that and do not qualify for DHS funding streams. I have worked with Tribes in California to develop mentorships with better developed Tribal EM programs and have had wonderful success due to Tribal leadership commitment. Seven Tribes in California are close to being "directly eligible". I agree with the points that it is the Stafford Act requires correction as Tribes are lumped into the "local governments" category. A full-time EM can be funded under Mitigation using FEMA PDM planning grant, under the EPA GAP grant under Preparedness and under the USDA/APHIS grant under Agriculture Response and USDOT under HAZMAT Preparedness. There are many creative ways to fund a FT Emergency Manager. Furthermore, FEMA Emergency Management Emergency Management Institute provides week long training in (3) subject areas of Emergency Management for $96.75. But this cannot be done without Tribal leaders apathetic to the EM cause.
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