Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition, Inc.

 

 

November 8, 2002

 

MEMORANDUM:

 

TO:                  Missouri River Basin Tribal Chairmen and Presidents, Mni Sose Tribal Delegates, and      Tribal Cultural Resource Officials

FROM:             Gary Collins, President

 

SUBJECT:        Training for Missouri River Basin Tribes

 

 

I would like to take this opportunity to update your Tribe on the Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition’s previously held and upcoming training sessions.

 

When the Mni Sose Coalition was established, the Coalition member Tribes faced a number of barriers in managing tribal environments and developing tribal infrastructure. These barriers included lack of technical expertise, effective communications with Federal agencies, lack of critical environmental data and information, and access to environmental management trends and research. The Coalition’s founding Nations envisioned a united effort to address these needs throughout the Missouri River Basin.

 

The Coalition was directed to design and implement training opportunities for member tribal leaders and administrators based on tribal priorities. One major tribal priority was to access tribal data and environmental information. In 1995, the Coalition, working in collaboration with the Department of Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Reclamation, Indian Health Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs began a drive to empower the Tribes to research, compile, and analyze tribal environmental data and information.

 

The Coalition member Tribes were provided training in accessing the Internet, computerized environmental data banks, and national environmental research topics. Armed with these skills, tribal environmental offices were provided computer workstations and geographic information systems and geographic position systems computer programs to compile, analyze, and interpret tribal environmental conditions. This training was directed to provide tribal leaders with clear, concise information upon which to make informed decisions on management of their homelands. The Tribes were also provided with Community-based Environmental Protection training to assist Tribes in addressing environmental risk assessments and evaluating alternatives in remediation of environmental problems and were supplied with a framework for interagency participation on tribal environmental activities.

 

The Coalition, which continues to provide member Tribes with training opportunities, has scheduled the following training sessions during the next four months:

v      Tribal/FEMA Emergency Response Train-the-Trainer workshop on November 12-14, 2002, in Sloan, Iowa.

v      National Tribal Environmental Enforcement Conference on November 19-21, 2002, in Kansas City, Kansas.

v      Cultural Resource Management Training with an emphasis on Section 106 Development on December 17-19, 2002 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

v      Cultural Resource Management Agreements with the Army Corps of Engineers on February 11 and 12, 2003, the location of which will be determined by the Tribes.

 

These training sessions are open to all Tribes. If you would like more information on any of these sessions please contact the Coalition at: Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition, PO Box 2890, Rapid City, South Dakota 57709-2890; 605-343-6054 phone; 605-343-4722 fax; mnisose@qwest.net e-mail.