Tribal Summit

The US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, has a knack for identifying approaches to the needs of Tribal governments and communities in a more holistic way than Federal agencies have traditionally done. They succeed in large degree by listening to the demands of Tribal leaders, and responding to them in collaboration with Tribal environmental staff.

In this 3rd year of West Coast Green, opportunities for Tribal representatives to gather and exchange their perspectives and experiences on green building were built into the program for the very first time. EPA facilitated several gatherings, offered at the request of the Regional Tribal Operations Committee, a workgroup composed of EPA staff and Tribal representatives. These discussions lay the foundation for continued government-to-government dialogue on the development and implementation of a Tribal green building strategy.

The lunch session I sat in on was organized in a talking circle. Participants introduced themselves, and then shared notes and thoughts about resources available, the specific needs of particular Tribes as well as the common challenges, and some success stories. As with every session at West Coast Green, the discussion ended too soon, when the room was needed for another scheduled session.