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<br />00518' <br /> <br />REVISED DRAFT (#10)- August 11,2004 <br />Clean Version <br /> <br />Sovereignty means that tribes have the power to make and enforce laws and to create <br />institutions of government. Saying that tribal sovereignty is inherent means that it comes <br />from within the tribe itself and existed before the founding of the United States. Tribal <br />sovereignty is not absolute, but rather is subject to certain limits established by Congress <br />and the federal courts (although such limits are generally not relevant to this Consultation <br />Plan), In addition to inherent sovereignty, tribes can also exercise governmental authority <br />delegated to them by Congress. <br /> <br />B. Trust Responsibility <br /> <br />Relations between the federal government and the tribes are shaped by a body of <br />law that includes treaties, acts of Congress, court decisions, and Executive Orders. One <br />of the key legal doctrines is known as the federal trust responsibility, which includes <br />fiduciary obligations on the part of the federal government for the management of lands <br />and natural resources held in trust for the benefit of Indian tribes and tribal members. <br /> <br />In addition to management ofland and other trust resources, Congress has <br />recognized that the trust responsibility "includes the protection of the sovereignty of each <br />tribal governmenl." 25 V.S.C. 9360 I. While the Bureau ofIndian Affairs (BIA) has the <br />lead role in carrying out the trust responsibility, courts have ruled that other federal <br />agencies also have trust obligations to Indian tribes. The "AMWG F ACA Committee <br />Guidance" for the AMP acknowledges this, saying: <br /> <br />"All Federal agencies have a special responsibility to Native Americans by law, <br />including statutes, treaties, and executive orders. With the Secretary of the <br />Interior being the trustee, Department of the Interior agencies have a special role." <br />Strategic Plan, Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (Final Draft, <br />August 17,2001) (herein, "AMP Strategic Plan"), Appendix B, AMWG FACA <br />Committee Guidance, at Appendix B-7. <br /> <br />C. Government-to-Government Relationship <br /> <br />Because tribes are governments, the relationship between the federal government <br />and the tribes is sometimes described as "govemment-to-government." This is <br />recognized in Executive Order 13175, which states, "The United States continues to work <br />with Indian tribes on a government-to-government basis to address issues concerning <br />Indian tribal self-government, tribal trust resources, and Indian treaty and other rights." <br />In the context of the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and the Adaptive Management <br />Program, two of the tribes, the Navajo Nation and Hualapai Tribe. as noted above, have <br />governmental authority over some of the lands and waters in the Colorado River corridor. <br />Although the other tribes do not have such governmental authority, they all have rights <br />protected by federal statutes and the Constitution. Tribes are sovereign governments and <br />they must be treated as such even when the matters at issue are beyond the reach of tribal <br />territorial sovereignty. Moreover. tribes and federal agencies may enter into agreements <br /> <br />9 <br />