[Judy Pino] 
Perhaps no one understands 
the importance of preserving 
America's natural beauty more 
than Native Americans.
Since 1984 EPA has been working 
with tribal governments to help 
establish environmental 
protection programs in 
Indian country. 
With me today are 
Felicia Wright, 
head of the tribal program in 
EPA's Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response, 
and Margaret Cook, 
director of the Department 
of Environmental Quality 
for the Gila River 
Indian Community.
Thank you both for being 
here with us today.
[Felicia Wright] 
Thanks.
[Margaret Cook] 
Thank you.
[Judy Pino] 
Well, Felicia, tell me about the 
ways that the EPA is working 
with the tribes. 
[Felicia Wright] 
Well, EPA works with tribes, 
as well as the rest of the 
federal agencies -- works with 
tribes based on a unique legal 
and historical political 
relationship that we 
have established since 
pre-Revolutionary times. 
And two key components of 
this relationship are the 
government-to-government 
relationship that we have 
where we work directly 
with tribes as a 
government-to-government basis, 
and also recognizing the 
inherent authority that tribes 
have to govern themselves, 
which we call 
tribal sovereignty.
So, using these two principles 
in our daily work in the 
Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response 
we work with tribes to develop 
training and assistance to help 
them build their environmental 
programs, and we work with 
them as co-regulators in 
environmental programs on  
Indian lands.
[Judy Pino] 
And we should say that tribal 
lands make up 4 percent 
of this country's land mass, 
and there are more than 
564 different recognized 
tribal governments. 
And EPA has been a leader in 
establishing Indian policy 
that lays out the principles of 
how we will work and recognize 
tribes at
the EPA.
Tell me more
about that.
[Felicia Wright] 
Well, the Indian policy, which 
was established in 1984, 
actually governs our daily 
work in working with tribes.
It has 14 different principles 
which we abide by. 
It includes removing barriers 
and working with tribes, 
recognizing tribes as a primary 
decision-making authority in 
their governmental affairs, 
and so that really helps us 
to guide our 
everyday work.
[Judy Pino] 
And, Margaret, how would 
you say that the tribes 
benefit from this?
[Margaret Cook] 
Well, because of the unique 
relationship that the federal 
government has with tribes, 
the best benefit that we have 
is the true partnership that we 
have, and we are able to do 
that in being able to 
participate in all the 
environmental programs that the 
Environmental Protection Agency 
has developed.
And this allows us to regulate 
our communities as a true 
sovereign nation.
[Judy Pino] 
And of course the Gila Tribe 
has created a successful 
solid and hazardous waste 
regulatory program, 
and established an emergency 
response program as well. 
[Margaret Cook] 
Yes, we have.
We've been able to develop our 
own regulatory authorities 
within the community that allows 
us to regulate our community.
This becomes very important in 
anyone who wants to locate 
within Indian land, whether 
it be a tribal member or a 
non-tribal member, because we 
do have industrial parks where 
people do like
to locate.
We're on the edge of a fairly 
large metropolitan area, 
and this allows us to regulate 
people in a way that is fair 
and just, which is what 
is important to tribes 
as well as to 
federal agencies.
[Judy Pino] 
And of course you would say 
that there has been progress 
over the last
20 years.
[Margaret Cook] 
There has been a tremendous 
amount of progress over the 
last 20 years. 
When we first started getting 
involved in environmental 
programs way back in 1984, 
and particularly we really 
got going under the 
Clinton administration, 
and that's continued on today, 
which has allowed us to be 
able to participate in the same 
way as states have been able 
to participate in environmental 
programs, and it has allowed us 
to be -- to provide a healthier 
and a safer and a cleaner 
environment for our community 
and for our tribal members. 
[Judy Pino] 
And the most exciting 
thing of all, Felicia, 
is that EPA has developed some 
new tools to strengthen the 
relationship and environmental 
protection efforts.
[Felicia Wright] 
We have.
Our most recent tool is a 
strategy, a tribal strategy, 
for the Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response, 
and that's looking out over the 
next five years on the goals 
that we're setting and specific 
actions we're going to take 
to achieve those goals to 
improve human health and 
the environment in
Indian country. 
And one of the things 
we're doing right -- 
this week is we are kicking off 
the tribal strategy with a 
national forum, and so we've 
invited tribes from all over 
the country; we've got EPA 
regions and headquarters here.
And we are prioritizing the 
issues and developing an 
implementation plan that we want 
to step up over the next year.
And finally, one of the most 
important tools we have within 
EPA and the federal government 
is a new training.
It's called Working Effectively 
with Tribal Governments.
It's available to anyone 
who wants to learn.
It's on www.golearn.gov, 
and it's a very effective 
tool for helping people to 
understand the relationship  
with tribes and working in 
the environmental field.
[Judy Pino] 
And of course this week we are 
having a national tribal forum, 
and Margaret is in D.C. 
as part of that. 
What do you see as some of the 
major environmental challenges 
facing tribes in 
the coming years?
[Margaret Cook] 
I think the major problem that 
we have is the major problem 
the whole country has, 
the whole world has, 
and that's climate 
change issues.
And our relationship and 
our partnership with the 
Environmental Protection Agency 
is allowing us to develop our 
programs right within our own 
communities of how we can deal 
with some of 
these issues. 
It's everything from recycling 
programs to regulating our 
air emissions in a better way 
to reduce our carbon footprint.
All of those issues are very 
important to tribal members 
as well as to anyone else in the 
country, and this discussion 
that we're having here in D.C. 
this week is allowing us to 
discuss some of those issues 
and how can we become better 
informed, how can we participate 
in a stronger way,  
is allowing us to look forward 
to protecting our communities 
in a way that was intended 
to do under the 
Environmental Protection 
Agency.
[Judy Pino] 
Well, thank you so much, ladies, 
for being with us and sharing 
this very important 
information.
Felicia Wright, head of the 
tribal program in EPA's 
Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response, 
and Margaret Cook, director of 
the Department of Environmental 
Quality for the Gila River 
Indian Community. 
Thank you
very much.
[Margaret Cook] 
Thank you.
[Felicia Wright] 
Thank you.
[Judy Pino] 
And for more information on 
tribal programs at the EPA, 
please visit 
www.epa.gov/tribalportal.