Coming Home Again: Tribal Sovereignty, the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program, and their Potential for Endemic Wildlife Reintroduction

Abstract

Despite centuries of federal and state policies that have resulted in extinction or endangerment for multitudes of wildlife species with cultural, ecological, and historical significance to Indigenous nations throughout the United States, many tribes have begun to attempt wildlife reintroduction in and near Indian Country, with or without federal or state support, and sometimes in spite of strident opposition. Recent efforts, including the reintroduction of bison to the Fort Peck and Wind River Reservations, the Nez Perce and Yurok Tribes’ release of California condors, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation’s reintroduction of pronghorn antelope, have shown early signs of success. Tribes attempting to reintroduce endangered, threatened, or extirpated species have used a variety of legal and other tools to further their efforts, sometimes in combinations that reflect unique values or particular history connecting the tribe to the reintroduced species. The focus of this Article is an option that has received relatively little scholarly examination–the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program (“TWG” or “TWG Program”). The TWG Program presents a unique means by which tribes can establish, or reestablish, wildlife management frameworks largely free of federal oversight or intervention, allowing tribes to avoid certain complications of the federal-tribal legal relationship that have impeded many past tribal wildlife management efforts. The Program also allows tribes to choose when and how to partner with states, a significant improvement over other wildlife conservation and management frameworks that used a federalism structure. Finally, the Program provides a mechanism for actualizing inherent tribal sovereignty for tribes that are willing to establish positive laws in connection with their reintroduction efforts.