On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the Department of the Interior hosted a Tribal Consultation on Workforce Efficiency and Productivity (EO 14210) and Emergency Permitting Procedures to Strengthen Domestic Energy Supply in Anchorage, Alaska. The session lasted from 11:00 am until 6:30 pm and had to be moved from its planned location to a new location due to the number of attendees.

The following DOI officials were present:

• • Scott Davis, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs
  • Kennis Bellmard, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development
  • Kelly Rael, Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Special Advisor
  • Jason Freihage, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management
  • Bryan Mercier, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs
  • Tony Dearman, Director, Bureau of Indian Education
  • Margaret Williams, Acting Director, Bureau of Trust Funds Administration
  • Kevin Bearquiver, Deputy Bureau Director – Trust Operations Field

The DOI officials did not provide substantive comments or discuss significant policy objections or programs. They did note that:

• • The Alaska’s BIA office would not be consolidating with the Portland office; and
  • after the three weeks of consultation, there will be a thirty-day written comment period.

The DOI also presented a PowerPoint presentation which summarized at a high level the stated purpose of the consultation and some administrative actions taken by the DOI.

As described in its PowerPoint and by the DOI officials themselves, the DOI is consolidating human resources, information technology, financial management, training and development, international affairs, contracting, communications, and Federal financial assistance, among other administrative functions within the agency. It took action to consolidate those areas in all bureaus within the DOI except for Indian Affairs in April and will consider whether to consolidate some Indian Affairs functions at the Department level after concluding its tribal consultations.

The DOI presentation identified five proposed “workforce efficiency strategies”:

1. 1. 1. Uphold Trust Responsibilities to Tribes. Indian Affairs will continue to prioritize subject ‎matter expertise to ensure timely and effective fulfillment of federal trust responsibilities ‎to tribal nations. Employees remain dedicated to advancing the mission and goals that are ‎critical to the success and sovereignty of tribes.‎

Core Proposed Approach: Focus on continuity and improvement of federal services.‎ Expand tribal self-determination and self-governance to reduce federal bureaucracy and ‎‎regulation.‎ Implement collaborative and sustainable workforce strategies to support long-term tribal ‎‎development and resilience.‎

1. 1. 1. 2. Ensure Alignment with Executive Orders. All workforce efficiency initiatives will be aligned with ‎EO 14210 and related federal mandates, reaffirming Indian Affairs’ commitment to fulfilling its obligations ‎and honoring commitments to tribes.

Core Proposed Approach: Data-driven decision-‎making aligned with the priorities and needs of tribal communities.‎ Invest in technology and automation to utilize comprehensive data analysis and industry best ‎practices.

1. 1. 1. 3. Efficient Use of DOI Resources. Indian Affairs will support and leverage the Department’s efforts ‎to streamline and unify core business and administrative services. This will lead to enhanced ‎processes, reduced redundancies, and improved delivery of services to tribal nations.

Core ‎Proposed Approach: Realign internal resources and mission objectives to better meet emerging ‎tribal priorities.‎ Explore merging offices and removing management layers where efficiencies are possible.‎ Build capacity in critical functional areas to improve performance and service delivery. ‎

1. 1. 1. 4. Commitment to High-Quality Education. BIE is committed to ensuring every Indian student has access to a world-class, culturally grounded education. Central to this effort is the prioritization of school-level personnel, whose direct impact on student outcomes makes them essential to educational success.

Core Proposed Approach: Invest in Frontline Educators. Empower and support teachers, counselors, and school leaders through targeted professional development, recruitment, and retention efforts. Use data to assess student needs and drive resource allocation decisions that support academic achievement and well-being. Strengthen tribal consultation in education policy and program development to ensure culturally responsive practices are embedded at every level.

1. 1. 1. 5. Streamline and Prioritize. BTFA plays a vital role in safeguarding and managing financial trust assets for tribal and individual Indian beneficiaries. Ensuring fiduciary responsibilities, operational transparency, and beneficiary service is essential to building and maintaining trust with Native communities.

Core Proposed Approach: Focus on Statutory Requirements. Prioritize fiduciary trust responsibilities of receipting, investing, disbursing, reconciling, and reporting. Strengthen beneficiaries understanding of their financial trust assets. Utilize comprehensive data to identify opportunities to modernize and update existing systems and processes to increase transparency, access, and efficiency.

The DOI also addressed changes to permitting procedures stated that:

The Department and BIA will implement emergency permitting procedures to accelerate the development of domestic energy resources and critical minerals. These measures are designed to expedite their view and approval, if appropriate, of projects related to the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, or generation of energy within the United States.

To implement this goal, DOI presented the following:

• • National Environmental Policy Act: The Department will be adopting an alternative National Environmental Policy Act compliance process to allow for more concise documents and a compressed timeline. Projects analyzed in an environmental assessment, normally taking up to one year, will now be reviewed within approximately 14 days. Projects requiring a full environmental impact statement, typically a two-year process, will be reviewed in roughly 28 days.
  • Endangered Species Act: An expedited Section 7 consultation process will be implemented, which involves the appropriate bureau notifying the Fish and Wildlife Service that it is using emergency consultation procedures. Following such notification, the appropriate bureau can then proceed with deciding whether to approve the action.
  • National Historic Preservation Act: Bureaus will follow alternative procedures for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for proposed undertakings responding to the energy emergency, which include notifying the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, and any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian Organization who may attach religious and cultural significance to historic properties likely to be affected by a proposed undertaking and affording them an opportunity to comment within 7 days of the notification.

The bulk of the consultation comprised of comments from Alaska Tribes and their affiliated organizations. The broad themes of the comments were as follows:

1. 1. BIA should retain the Alaska BIA as a separate office and Alaska Tribal liaisons are critical.
   2. Critical BIA functions are backlogged, specifically resolution of Native allotment transfers.
   3. Compacting with Alaska Tribes should be the norm and not the exception.
   4. BIA’s administrative requirements are overly burdensome, often duplicative, and outdated.
   5. The federal trust responsibility includes meaningful Tribal consultation following transparent, easily understood scopes and sufficient prior notice before decision-making.
   6. BIA should directly fund Alaska Tribes and bypass the State and other intermediaries.
   7. BIA should implement special rules for smaller Alaska Tribes when applying for competitive grants to level the playing field.
   8. BIA should release already awarded or contracted federal funding to pay for or reimburse for projects started or completed.
   9. BIA should fund cultural, environmental, and language programs.
   10. Expedited permitting of natural resources development should not replace Tribal consultation and involvement.
   11. BIA should prioritize protecting subsistence.

Regarding expedited permitting, Kerry Ivory of the Native Village of Ouzinkie stressed that decisions should be thoroughly thought out and planned. Ms. Ivory opposed short-signed, expedited permitting, stating that the “energy emergency is manufactured and puts Tribal communities at risk.” She also said, “[l]ands are changing fast due to climate change, a dirty word for this administration.” She concluded by noting that the real emergency is the collapse of fisheries, lack of affordable housing, erosion of the Y-K Delta, permafrost melting, and lack of running water, calling these “real emergencies for real people.”

This article summarizes aspects of the law. This article does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice regarding your situation, you should contact an attorney.