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USDA and Forest Service policy affirmed respect for Indigenous ties to the land, 1993
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Many National Forest System lands are adjacent to Native American or Alaska Native tribal lands. In 1990, the Forest Service updated its policy towards its Indigenous neighbors. The guidelines echoed government-wide support for Native peoples’ cultural and political integrity and an appreciation for their ties to the land.
President George H. W. Bush signed the first joint resolution designating November as National Native American Heritage Month in 1990. The law was one of many recent statutes relating to tribal affairs. That year also saw the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which requires the safeguarding and return of human remains and cultural belongings to their descendants. The National Museum of the American Indian Act and construction of a new Smithsonian museum and memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. were also recent developments.
Read more about the relationship between the Forest Service and Indigenous Americans in the policy, Friends and Partners, found in NAL’s digitized collections.
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