Of the 431 units of the national park system, 109 had a formal co-stewardship agreement with a Tribe as of September 2024, and 43 more were being negotiated. That number is new: before a 2022 policy, the main formal channel between a park and the Tribes whose lands it holds was consultation — being asked. Co-stewardship means sharing part of the work.
Three levels of partnership
| What it means | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation | the government asks Tribes before acting, as part of its nation-to-nation relationship; a new Director's Order codifies how parks do it | every park, by law and policy |
| Co-stewardship | a framework, set by a 2022 policy, for Tribes, Alaska Native entities and the Native Hawaiian community to take part in managing park land and water beyond consultation | 109 parks with formal agreements (43 more pending); 56 more with co-stewardship activities but no formal agreement |
| Co-management | shared management under a specific legal authority or circumstance | Grand Portage National Monument with the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (25 years in August 2024); Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve |
Two examples of what co-stewardship looks like on the ground: at Grand Canyon, 16 affiliated Tribes have agreements to tell Indigenous stories at places like Desert View Watchtower and the Tusayan Museum and Pueblo, where Tribal vendors also demonstrate and sell their work; at Craters of the Moon, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and the park developed nine new interpretive waysides on the half-mile Devils Orchard Nature Trail, covering Indigenous history, culture and language.
Rules, money and staff
The Park Service fully staffed its first Office of Native American Affairs, reporting directly to the director. In December 2023 a final rule updated the regulations for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), setting systematic processes for returning human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants, Tribes and Native Hawaiian organisations, and strengthening their role in repatriation. Internal guidance followed on Tribal plant gathering in parks, reburial in parks, and bringing exhibits into line with the new rules.
| Since 2021 | |
|---|---|
| New agreements with Tribal Historic Preservation Offices | 27 |
| Distributed to Tribes for historic and cultural preservation | $77 million |
| NAGPRA grants to museums, Tribes and Native Hawaiian organisations | $10.4 million |
| First full-time NAGPRA investigator, in the Act's 31-year history | hired 2022 |
A theme study with Tribes and scholars is also examining the Indian Reorganization period, to evaluate properties for future National Historic Landmark designation.
Land going back
Two projects go beyond management. In March 2024 the Yurok Tribe, Save the Redwoods League, the Park Service and California State Parks agreed to transfer 'O Rew, a 125-acre property, from the League back to the Yurok Tribe, and to plan a southern gateway to Redwood National and State Parks there. At Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine, the Wabanaki Nations and partners are building the privately funded Tekαkαpimək Contact Station, which will tell the region's story primarily through an Indigenous lens.
Sources
Written from the National Park Service fact sheet "Recent National Park Service Work with Indian Country" (November 2024), a work of the United States government in the public domain. Figures are as of September 2024.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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