Sovereign-to-Sovereign (S2S) Cooperative Agreements:
An online repository of land co-management materials
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) partnered with the University of Montana Bolle Center for People and Forests, the Gallagher Law Library and the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law to develop an online repository of materials related to federal-tribal land co-management.
The repository is designed to consolidate resources for those interested in sovereign-to-sovereign cooperative land management agreements and their practical applications. The project was made possible with the financial support from the Luce Foundation, The Wilderness Society, and the First Nations Development Institute.
The repository encompasses a range of materials, including relevant authorities, guidance documents, scholarship, and examples of prior and existing cooperative agreements such as Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs), 638 Contracts and Self-Governance Compacts, and Annual Funding Agreements.
The online collection, currently named “Sovereign-to-Sovereign (S2S) Cooperative Agreements,” is free-to-use and hosted by the Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington School of Law. It exists as an ongoing work in progress to accommodate the evolving nature of co-management guidance.
With Special Thanks:
NARF gratefully acknowledges the research and support of the NRDC, and particular attorney Sharon Buccino who approached NARF about this project. Their efforts have had a significant impact in promoting meaningful tribal co-management and the protection of sacred sites on federal public lands.
Research and analysis completed by a collaborative practicum between the Indian Law Center at Arizona State University and Georgetown Law School during the spring 2021 provided many of materials serving as the basis of this collection. This work was conducted by Nathan C. Frischkorn, Jens W. Camp and Vera Lucia Morveli Flores under the supervision of Larry S. Roberts and Sharon Buccino.
In addition, the repository would not have been possible without the materials provided by Professor Martin Nie of the University of Montana Bolle Center for People and Forests and Professor Monte Mills of the University of Washington School of Law. Their supervision and feedback were invaluable and insightful. NARF is equally grateful for their scholarship and open-door policy in terms of sharing their collective wisdom and experience.
More ResourcesIn compiling the materials offered through the repository, NARF followed the principles articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and sought the free, prior, and informed consent of any tribes named in the materials prior to making them publicly available. The data sovereignty protocols used seek to ensure that co-management agreements in the repository are shared in a manner that respects the rights and sovereignty of the Tribal Nations involved.
