Native American reservations and natural resources
Native American reservations are often home to rich natural resources, including coal, timber, oil, natural gas, and uranium, which are integral to many tribes' economic development strategies. Despite these resources, many reservations remain among the poorest regions in the United States, leading to increased focus on how tribal nations can better manage and benefit from their natural assets. Historically, tribal economic dependence on resource sales grew in the late 19th century, but legal and market barriers hindered effective utilization and development. For decades, tribal lands were leased to outside developers, often at less than market value, resulting in limited benefits for the tribes.
In response to the 1970s energy crisis, tribal leaders pushed for greater control over their resources, leading to legislative changes that allowed tribes to become energy producers and manage their timberlands more effectively. However, challenges persisted, including monitoring compliance and securing fair market value for resources. While some progress has been made in increasing tribal authority over natural resource management, many tribes still face market dependency and limited long-term employment opportunities from these ventures. Overall, the relationship between Native American reservations and their natural resources reflects a complex interplay of historical, legal, and economic factors that continue to evolve today.
Native American reservations and natural resources
Tribes affected: Tribes possessing natural resources
Significance: Reservations and tribal governments confront a difficult task in deciding on the most effective ways to develop a reservation’s natural resources.
Natural resources such as coal, timber, natural gas, uranium, and oil have important places in many Native American Nations’ economic development plans. Reservations comprise some of the poorest regions in the United States, so the type of development and the extent of tribal control over these assets is crucial.
General History
Tribal economic dependence on the sale of natural resources gained importance in the late nineteenth century as tribal leaders and individuals began to sell reservation land and individual allotted lands. Though nations retained possessory rights to timber and subsurface minerals, the absence of market demand and of legislation that granted tribes authority to sell timber or minerals apart from the land hindered development. Resources were simply ceded during land sales of this era, depriving tribes of benefits from these commodities.
In 1891, Congress enacted leasing legislation that provided a mechanism for tribes to lease land, coal, oil, and natural gas without selling their real estate. Tribes could control outside access to energy minerals by approving or disapproving of leases. At the time, few leases were made because of low demand for tribal resources.
Congress revised reservation leasing in the 1938 Omnibus Tribal Leasing Act, which required competitive bidding and the posting of bonds by successful bidders. The legislation favored outside developers, not the tribal landowners, because it emphasized quick monetary returns for the tribe in the leasing process rather than ensuring technical expertise on a nation’s behalf.
These reservation leasing guidelines were quickly outdated, but they remained operative for the next four decades. During that time, outsiders leased tribal minerals at less than market value and continued to enjoy the privilege thanks to continuous production clauses. Some outside interests even built power plants on reservations.
Energy Minerals
As a result of the 1970s energy crisis, tribal leaders demanded greater roles in making energy mineral decisions and in writing regulations governing reservation mineral development. Reservations possessed 3 percent of the nation’s oil and natural gas reserves and 13 percent of the coal reserves.
Rising demand for reservation energy resources created a false impression that tribes possessing coal, oil, and natural gas were wealthy. In 1976, the comptroller general reported that tribal resources were underdeveloped and that information on the extent of tribal energy resources was lacking, depriving tribes of revenue. At the same time, the United States failed to monitor lessor reclamation compliance, production figures, and royalty collection from reservation energy contracts. As a result, some tribes were reluctant to enter into energy development simply because too many questions remained unanswered. The Council of Energy Resource Tribes was created, its primary task to provide tribal leaders with energy mineral information. Tribal leaders became increasingly convinced of the need for local tribal control over energy mineral resources.
As a result of Native American assertions regarding control over resource development on tribal land, the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1977 began requiring reservation energy mineral leasing contractors to comply with the provisions of the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. In 1982, as a result of tribal initiative, Congress passed the Indian Minerals Development Act, allowing tribes to become energy producers.
Greater tribal control did not end energy mineral development problems. Monitoring and compliance issues continued to hinder tribal efforts to secure fair market value for their resources and to assure that tribal lands were not ruined in the process of mineral extraction.
Timber
In 1910, Congress passed legislation authorizing the logging of reservation forests. To fund a professional forestry program, administrative charges were deducted from tribal timber contracts. In 1972, the administrative fee program was modified, and passage of the 1975 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act gave tribal leaders increased tribal control over reservation timber.
Reservation leaders began planning to increase timber revenues by developing value-added wood product industries. The creation of the Intertribal Timber Council in 1979 provided tribes with technical assistance to develop wood product industries. In 1990, Congress passed the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act, which increased tribal decision-making powers over reservation timber and provided the potential for greater monetary support for tribal conservation efforts.
Despite positive directions in reservation natural resource development, tribes do not possess adequate energy minerals and forested lands to control markets. As a result, tribes remain market dependent. At best, natural resource revenues provided sporadic, small per-capita payments to tribal members during the duration of a timber cutting contract or an energy mineral lease. Natural resources have not provided long-term reservation employment opportunities because of the vagaries of the energy and lumber markets.
Bibliography
Ambler, Marjane. Breaking the Iron Bonds: Indian Control of Energy Development. UP of Kansas, 1990.
Reno, Philip. Mother Earth, Father Sky, and Economic Development: Navajo Resources and Their Use. U of New Mexico P, 1981.
U.S. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Special Committee on Investigations. Final Report and Legislative Recommendations: A Report of the Special Committee on Investigations of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.