Indian Sacred Sites
Federal Agencies Must Protect and Accommodate Indian Sacred Sites
What it does
Agencies must adopt procedures to allow access and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites and avoid harming their physical integrity.
Real-world impact
- Changes federal land management to allow tribal access for ceremonies.
- Creates reporting and consultation requirements for agencies within one year.
- Allows agencies to keep sacred site locations confidential when appropriate.
Topics
Summary
This order requires federal agencies that manage public lands to allow access and ceremonial use of places that Indian tribes or authorized Indian religious leaders identify as sacred, and to avoid harming those places' physical integrity. Agencies should keep locations confidential when appropriate.
Agencies must put procedures in place, consult with tribes, and report to the President within one year on how they are implementing the order. The order also says it does not create new legal rights or require taking private property.
Questions, answered
Ask questions about this executive order and its implications. Try:
- “What agencies are affected by this order?”
- “How does this order change existing policy?”
- “What are the practical implications of this order?”