The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments, has called on the Biden administration to pause offshore wind projects. The resolution adopted by NCAI this week urges the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt all scoping and permitting for offshore wind projects until a procedure to protect tribal environmental and sovereign interests is developed and implemented. This includes negotiating “fair compensation” for using their lands and resources and protections to prevent damage to the environment or cultural heritage.
The resolution was adopted during a meeting of the organization’s general assembly, and is in response to concerns that Indigenous peoples are often sidelined in project planning and that wind energy might repeat the harms committed by fossil fuel companies and other extractive industries. The Biden administration has made commitments to consult tribes and respect Indigenous knowledge in forming policies, and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has said that tribes should “have a seat at the table for every decision that impacts them and their communities.”
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has passed a resolution calling on the Biden administration to pause offshore wind projects. The resolution urges the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt all scoping and permitting until a procedure to protect tribal environmental and sovereign interests is developed and implemented. This includes negotiating “fair compensation” for using their lands and resources and protections to prevent damage to the environment or cultural heritage. The resolution is in response to concerns that Indigenous peoples are often sidelined in project planning, and that wind energy might repeat the harms of fossil fuel companies and other extractive industries. The Biden administration has committed to consulting tribes and respecting Indigenous knowledge, and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has said tribes should “have a seat at the table for every decision that impacts them and their communities.”
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