Opinion: Progress on sacred sites and tribal initiatives at ACHP

At its recent winter business meeting on March 1, the ACHP became the first federal agency to adopt a plan to proactively support the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This is another opportunity to promote better stewardship and protection of Native American historic properties and sacred sites. The Declaration also reinforces many of the ACHP’s policies, goals, and Native American initiatives.

In December 2012, four cabinet-level departments joined the ACHP in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve the protection of and tribal access to Indian sacred sites and in March 2013 adopted an action plan to implement the provisions of the MOU.

Our members have also voted to request that Congress modify the National Historic Preservation Act to make the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO) a permanent member of the ACHP. We are actively working to include that measure in legislation going before Congress.