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The author is ExecutiveDirector, National IndianJustice Center, SantaRosa, California, and amember of the TRBNative AmericanTransportation IssuesCommittee.

Many Americans are not aware of the home-lands within the United States that are sep-arate and apart from mainstream America.

These are lands occupied by the 566 Indian tribesrecognized as holding a government-to-governmentrelationship with the United States. Called Indianreservations, pueblos, villages, colonies, andrancherias, the lands are defined by federal law asIndian Country, and they are home to the cultures,traditions, and governments of Indian communities.

The 566 tribes of Indian Country are federallyrecognized and are considered limited sovereign enti-

ties. The tribes make their own laws for their terri-tories and possess sovereign immunity from law-suits. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized that thisgovernment shield applies to Indian tribes in SantaClara Pueblo v. Martinez, decided in 1978.

Federally recognized tribes are eligible to havetheir lands placed in federal trust status; this preventsthe state or the local county government from regu-lating or taxing tribal lands. Tribal lands not held infederal trust, however, are considered private prop-erty and are subject to state and local taxation andregulation.

Indian Country 101History, Geography, Policies, and Initiatives Affecting Tribal Transportation InfrastructureJ O S E P H M Y E R S

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The Rio Grande GorgeBridge outside Taos,

New Mexico, near thefederally recognizedsovereign territory of

the Taos Pueblo.

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Tribes that are organized and culturally active butare not federally recognized are subject to the juris-diction of the state. These tribes may petition forfederal recognition but remain subject to the stateuntil the process is complete and recognition isgained. Petitions for recognition sometimes takeyears and may not result in the desired outcome—usually because of a political conflict.

With recognition, however, tribal members areeligible for federal benefits in health care and educa-tion. The tribe then stands in a government-to-gov-ernment relationship with the federal government,and the tribal real property is eligible for trust status.Generally, only a federally recognized tribe can buildan Indian casino on land held in federal trust.

Tribal DiversityThe tribal groups of Indian Country vary in popula-tion and land size. For example, the Navajo Nationhas a population of more than 200,000 on territoryin three states—Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah—the Navajo lands are comparable in size with WestVirginia. In contrast, the Augustine Band of CahuillaIndians in Riverside County, Southern California, isthe smallest tribal group recognized by the federalgovernment, with six members. Both tribes exercisetribal sovereignty, however.

Much of Indian Country is remote, located inrural areas like the windswept plains of the BlackfeetReservation in Montana, the magical landscape of theNavajo, or the distant Native villages of Alaska. Twometropolitan areas of Nevada, however, are home tothe North Las Vegas Paiutes and to the Reno–SparksColony of Indians.

Several other federally recognized tribes arelocated within huge urban centers in Southern Cal-ifornia—for example, the Agua Caliente tribal mem-bers have trust allotments within the city limits ofPalm Springs; some claim that Palm Springs is anIndian reservation, but others maintain it is not. Sev-eral federally recognized tribes live within the met-ropolitan area of the City and County of San Diego,California.

Policy SetbacksUnder federal law, the U.S. Congress possesses ple-nary authority—that is, broad legislative power—inIndian affairs; the federal recognition for Indian

A teepee, the signaturedwelling of Great Plainstribes; today, realproperty of a triberecognized by the U.S.government is held infederal trust.

Infrastructure needs inIndian Country varywidely, from roads andbridges to the raisedpedestrian boardwalks ofTununak, Alaska.

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tribes can be terminated at the will of Congress. Inthe 1950s and 1960s, “Indian termination” becamea goal of Congress, but President Richard Nixonended that policy in the 1970s. Through litigationand federal statutes, tribes that had been terminatedin the 1950s and 1960s were reinstated to federalrecognition in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, thepolicy of Indian termination has remained dormant.

In the early 1960s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs(BIA) in the U.S. Department of the Interiorlaunched the Indian Relocation Program that movedIndians from Indian Country to big cities to pursuethe American dream. The program provided employ-ment assistance and vocational training. Relocationsites included the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose,and Los Angeles in California, as well as Chicago,Illinois, and Dallas, Texas.

BIA representatives told Indians that the programwas an opportunity to leave the poverty of Indianreservations for economic success in urban America.For many, however, the Indian Relocation Programwas a dismal failure. Trade and labor union officials,for example, would not recognize the certificates thatIndians earned in big city trade schools; moreover,union membership required political connections,which Indian applicants lacked.

Some of the relocated Indians found the programmisleading and intolerable. Suicides, domestic vio-lence, alcohol and drug abuse, and persistent despairwere common. Some tried to return to the reserva-tion, but San Francisco is a long way from PineRidge, South Dakota.

Turning PointOn the evening of November 20, 1969, a small groupof Indian students from the University of California,Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles;and San Francisco State University began an occupa-tion of Alcatraz Island, then an abandoned federalprison in San Francisco Bay. The students wanted tolet the public know that the federal Indian policy of“termination and relocation” was destroying Indianpeople. Their message reached the world. Inquiriesfrom abroad questioned this federal policy in Indianaffairs.

On July 8, 1970, President Nixon ended theIndian termination policy and proposed Indian self-determination. Congress enacted the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act in1975, and self-determination remains the federalIndian policy today.

Federal law provides that Indian tribes may con-tract with the federal government for the funds toadminister services previously provided by the fed-eral government for the communities of Indian

Country. This includes funds to build, repair, andmaintain reservation transportation facilities.

Questions of TrustThe federal–tribal trust relationship, defined intreaties negotiated between the United States andvarious tribes—as well as by federal statutes and U.S.Supreme Court decisions—was created to protectIndian lands and monies. For Indian lands, the feepatent deed for the technical ownership of Indianlands is recorded at a local county recorder’s office asowned by the United States, and the “beneficial own-ership” remains with the federally recognized tribe orits members.

Indian monies collected by the federal govern-ment as revenues for the tribe or tribal members andderived from the exploitation of the natural resourcesof Indian lands are deposited into tribal and individ-ual tribal member accounts for safekeeping by thefederal government and eventual distribution to thebeneficiary.

Historically, the safekeeping of these monies hasproved questionable and became the object of amajor lawsuit, known as the Cobell case, in whichthe United States was sued for the serious misman-agement of the funds. The settlement from this casewas a small fraction of the amount claimed in thelawsuit, however, and was deemed unfair to theIndian people who comprised the class of plaintiffs.

Implementing PoliciesBIA oversees Indian affairs for the federal govern-ment, with a mission to safeguard Indian assets and

The occupation ofAlcatraz Island inCalifornia by Indianstudents in the late 1960sdrew worldwideattention to theinequities of the federalgovernment’s Indiantermination andrelocation policy.

In the early 1970s,President Nixon met with Indian leaders andinitiated policies that led to the Indian Self-Determination and Education AssistanceAct of 1975.

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to improve the quality of life for Indian people.Although the agency has received blame for thechronic ills experienced by tribes, BIA only imple-ments the Indian policies enacted by Congress—thiscan make BIA’s mission to safeguard difficult.

For example, Congress initiated the Indian ter-mination policy with House Resolution 108 in 1953,supposedly to free the Indians from federal domi-nance; the policy proved devious and destructive tothe people of Indian Country. The resolution calledfor the abrogation of treaties, the conversion of trustlands to private ownership, the elimination of tribalgovernments, and the elimination of the legal statusof federally recognized Indians. The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975asserted the policy of Indian self-determination.

BIA historically has served as the steward of trans-portation facilities in Indian Country. After the self-

determination law was implemented, tribes were ableto contract for the construction and maintenance ofroads and bridges in Indian Country. Some tribeshave contracted with BIA for these services.

BIA works with the Federal Highway Adminis-tration (FHWA) to provide federal funding and tech-nical assistance to meet the transportation needs ofIndian Country. In effect, this creates a three-waypartnership, as each tribe with a transportationinventory must participate with BIA and FHWA torealize the maximum benefits of updated informa-tion, best practices, and local tribal ownership of thetribal transportation system.

Geophysical AdaptationsEach region of Indian Country presents geophysicaldiversity in territorial size, density of population,methods of travel, and infrastructure of facilities:

T he Division of Transportation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs(BIA) manages road maintenance and construction programs

in Indian Country. Created in 1824, BIA is the oldest agency atthe Department of the Interior; in 1869, Civil War General Ely S.Parker became the first Native American commissioner of IndianAffairs. LeRoy Gishi, an ex officio member of the TRB ExecutiveCommittee, heads the Division of Transportation, which also isresponsible for the operation and maintenance of BIA roadsand the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP), as well as for theTTP-related activities administered through the Federal HighwayAdministration (FHWA).

Operation and MaintenanceBIA regional offices administer funds for the maintenance oftransportation facilities on Indian reservations and within tribalcommunities—and of roads in the BIA road system, which arepublic roads and are part of the National Tribal TransportationFacility Inventory (NTTFI). Along with providing access to tribalcommunities and trust and fee lands, BIA roads, bridges, ferryfacilities, and trails often serve as major corridors for medical, edu-cational, commercial, and recreational uses for tribal membersand for the general public.

Although the road maintenance administered by BIA encom-passes preservation of the roadway template and related struc-tures constructed with Highway Trust Funds, it does not includenew road construction, improvement, or reconstruction.Nonetheless, many of the roads were not built to adequatedesign standards or were not meant for vehicle use; most are inpoor condition and have safety deficiencies. In FY 2012, only 17percent of BIA roads were considered to be in acceptable condi-tion, based on BIA Service Level Index condition assessment cri-teria. The NTTFI also includes 930 bridges; one ferry system; and

roadway signs, protective devices, guide posts, drainage struc-tures, and fencing.

Tribal Transportation ProgramIn 2012, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act(MAP-21) changed the name of the Indian Reservation RoadsProgram to the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP). Jointlyadministered by the FHWA Federals Lands Highway Office andthe BIA Division of Transportation, TTP provides funds for plan-ning, designing, construction, and maintenance activities for allpublic roads in accordance with an interagency agreement. TheTTP regulations are published in the Code of Federal Regulations(25 CFR Part 170) but BIA is making revisions for the regulationto comply with the MAP-21 changes in the delivery of tribal trans-portation and to address concerns that have arisen since the rulewas issued in 2004.

Tribal transportation facilities are public roads that provideaccess to and within Indian reservations, Indian trust land,restricted Indian land, and Alaska native villages. The inventory ofproposed and existing roads in the NTTFI comprises approximately157,000 miles. Along with the 31,400 miles of BIA system roads,26,000 miles of roads are tribal system roads, and more than100,000 miles are under state and local ownership. TTP funds canbe used for eligible transportation-related activities on tribal trans-portation facilities and may also be used for state or local match-ing shares for apportioned Federal-Aid Highway Funds.

BIA and tribal governments administer most of the designand construction of TTP projects. Under tribal self-determinationcontracts, self-governance agreements, FHWA program agree-ments, or other appropriate agreements, tribal governments canperform, administer, and operate portions of all TTP functionsexcept those categorized as inherently federal.

Tribal Road Management at the Bureau of Indian Affairs

(Left to right:) Joe Dailey, FHWA;then–Federal Highway Adminis-trator Victor Mendez; and JohnSmith, Shoshone and ArapahoTribes Transportation Director, atthe groundbreaking of new con-struction on Seventeen MileRoad on the Wind River IndianReservation in Wyoming.

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u The Native people of the villages of Alaska haveice roads, unique roadways maintained on and offmajor waterways. Methods of transportation includesnowmobiles, dogsleds, boats, and bush planes.

u The Indians on Puget Sound in WashingtonState use a variety of boats for travel, work, and mov-ing freight.

u The Yurok and Hoopa on the Klamath River inNorthern California use jet boats and other types ofboats to fish, travel, and deliver supplies, with theriver serving as a core transportation facility.

u The Indians of the Southwest use on- and off-road vehicles, as well as animals, to travel the desertand the harsh High Plains areas.

u The Great Lakes tribes and the easternseaboard tribes use on- and off-road vehicles, as wellas boats, with surface facilities ranging from unpavedroadways to expansive waterway routes.

The geographical makeup and location of thereservation can make the construction, repair andmaintenance of transportation facilities costly, andweather conditions can limit the time frames for thework. For example, Alaska’s weather window fortransportation-related construction is brief.

Trailblazing NetworksEuropeans relied on many of the traditional trans-portation systems in exploring and claiming thehomelands of Native Americans; the invaders

Elements oftransportationinfrastructure in IndianCountry are as variedas tribal communitiesthemselves: ice roads inAlaska and northernCanada (top); off-roadvehicles in theSouthwest (center);and motorized jonboats, jet boats, andother vessels used bythe Yurok to catchsturgeon in theKlamath River(bottom).

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expanded the transportation networks already inplace. Surface transportation systems were built onthe many models in use before the arrival of theEuropeans.

As the emerging American society moved west-ward across the continent, explorers, fur traders, andleaders of the wagon trains bearing settlers relied onIndian guides to blaze the trails. The expeditionsnamed the trails after the destinations and their lead-ers—the California Trail, the Mormon Trail, and theBozeman Trail, to name a few. Before the building ofthe transcontinental railroad, these trails and road-ways were the key transportation networks. The so-called settling of the West would have consumedmuch more time without Indian guides followingIndian trails established well before the arrival of thewhite man.

The Oregon Trail, the most famous of the OldWest, spanned 2,000 miles from St. Louis, Missouri,to the Willamette Valley of Oregon, where Portlandwas founded. Initially traversed by foot or by horse-back, the trails later were cleared for wagon trains.Historians estimate that 400,000 white settlers,

including farmers, ranchers, businessmen, miners,and families, traveled the Oregon Trail.

Countering IsolationIn the 19th century, the federal government’s Indianpolicy called for treaties with Indian tribes. Thetreaties confined Native Americans to reservations,separated and kept apart from the emerging Ameri-can society, usually with a military guard. The roadsconnecting new American cities and towns changedand compromised the traditional transportation sys-tems of Native American groups, as did the railroadtracks connecting the East and West Coasts.

The isolation of Indian reservations in time, dis-tance, and resources historically created a tremen-dous challenge for the transportation infrastructure.In recent years, with the development of technologyand communication, these hardships are beingaddressed effectively. National, regional, and localservices are becoming available. State departments oftransportation are communicating with tribes, andsome are providing tribes with resources, breakingwith precedent.

Organizational InitiativesThe Transportation Research Board (TRB) helps sup-port the development and management of high-qual-ity transportation facilities in Indian Country,through the Native American Transportation IssuesCommittee. In 1993, TRB sponsored a conference,Exploring Solutions to Native American Transporta-tion and Economic Development Problems, at theFlathead Indian Reservation in Polson, Montana.

The conference led to the creation of the Inter-tribal Transportation Association (ITA), a nationalorganization to promote communication on trans-portation issues, to exchange transportation infor-mation, and to represent tribal transportation matterslocally, regionally, and nationally. TRB continues tohelp support the goals of ITA, as the Native Ameri-can association works to provide safety and quality-of-life enhancements for the communities of IndianCountry through the improvement of on-reservationtransportation systems.

The National Congress of American Indians alsomaintains a strong unit dedicated to tribal trans-portation issues, but ITA is the only Native organi-zation dedicated exclusively to tribal transportation.ITA receives support from other national organiza-tions and institutions seeking to improve the qualityand safety of all American transportation systems.

Technical AssistanceIn 1991, through the efforts of FHWA, federal legis-lation established the Tribal Technical Assistance

European settlers of theAmerican West followedroutes alreadyestablished by Indians;drawing by A. R. Waudfrom an 1875 edition ofHarper’s Weeklymagazine.

Road repair in Indiancountry. Improvedtechnology andcommunication haveallowed tribes, statedepartments oftransportation, and thefederal government toaddress transportationneeds more effectively.

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Program (TTAP) to assist tribal governments inimproving the quality and safety of transportationsystems through education, engineering, andenforcement.

The TTAPs cover all of Indian Country, withregional centers in Oklahoma, North Dakota, Col-orado, California, Washington, Michigan, andAlaska. The TTAPs operate regionally to provide

Indian Country with training, technical assistance,and technology transfer. The TTAPs promote safe,efficient, and environmentally sound transportationsystems in Indian Country by improving relevantskills and by increasing technical knowledge amongthe tribal workforce and its leaders.

Federal funding for the TTAP centers comes fromBIA and FHWA. The TTAPs disseminate informationthrough technical publications, training programs,technology transfer, information clearinghouses, andquarterly newsletters that update regional clients ona regular basis about developments in the field, par-ticularly about technology advances relevant to tribaltransportation. The TTAPs conduct a well-attendedannual national conference that offers a range ofworkshops for transportation professionals fromIndian Country and beyond.

Safe InfrastructureThe future of transportation facilities in IndianCountry depends on capable leaders committed toimproving the quality of life by ensuring a safe trans-portation infrastructure. The education of commu-nities, the enforcement of traffic laws, theengineering of new facilities, and the reliance onemergency resources dedicated to transportationsafety in Indian Country are the keys.

Funds from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation,as well as from state, federal, and local sources, wereused to replace a bridge on Shewville Road inLedyard, Connecticut. The road carries local traffic aswell as traffic to and from the Mashantucket Pequotreservation.

Tribal Technical Assistance ProgramA Training and Technology Transfer Resource

I n 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act authorizedthe Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to create the Tribal Techni-

cal Assistance Program (TTAP), recognizing the need to expand the LocalTechnical Assistance Program to serve tribal nations. Funded by FHWA andthe Bureau of Indian Affairs, TTAP is a training and technology transferresource for Native American tribes in the United States.

The program aims to

u Distribute technical assistance and conduct training at the tribal level,u Help tribes implement administrative procedures and new transporta-

tion technology,u Provide training and assistance in transportation planning and eco-

nomic development, andu Develop educational programs to encourage and motivate interest in

transportation careers among Native American students.

TTAP engages in technology transfer and training, research, and consid-eration of cultural issues. In addition, the TTAP centers coordinate the AnnualNational Tribal Transportation Conference, recently held September 22–25,2014, in Anchorage, Alaska. Seven TTAP centers serve U.S. regions; to learnmore about TTAP, go to www.ltap.org/about/ttap.php.

The Eastern Tribal Technical Assistance Programprovided forklift operation training to theStockbridge–Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.

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