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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit Welcome Welcome to - - PDF document
Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit Welcome Welcome to - - PDF document
Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit Welcome Welcome to Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit. This learning module is the final module in a series of modules developed by the Tribal Legal Preparedness Project to
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Navigating Through This Module
This module is designed to be interactive. If a slide is interactive or includes an activity, instructions will be provided. When you see the book icon, click on it for more information. When you see the “i“ icon, click on it for slide instructions. When you see the orange play button, click on it for audio. When you see the blue play button, click on it for video.
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Learning Objective
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
Identify one legal best practice your Tribal Nation can implement.
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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit
Tribal Nations across the country have been dealing with emergencies for centuries. Emergency preparedness, response, and recovery in Indian Country is unique. The Tribal Legal Preparedness Project held a series of listening sessions with Tribal Nations across the country, to not only determine their training needs, but to also identify best practices. These best practices are the result of numerous conversations with Tribal emergency managers, Tribal officials, and Tribal health and public health
- professionals. These best practices are Tribes helping Tribes - Tribal members sharing what has worked
for them. Although successful in their community, not all best practices listed will be possible for all Tribal Nations. This slide lists a number of issues Tribal Nations face: Staffing; Jurisdictional concerns; Communication; Planning; Not meeting disaster declaration threshold; Tribal leadership buy-in; and, Funding. Click on each issue to learn more about the specific issue, best practices associated with the issue, and, for some best practices, to hear from an individual or individuals who have effectively addressed the issue in their community. Some best practices have audio or video. Click on the orange “play” button to listen to audio or the blue “play” button to view a video. Once you are finished viewing the best practices, please click the next button.
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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit: Staffing
One issue that many Tribal Nations face is that their emergency manager serves in other roles within Tribal government. These numerous roles make it difficult for this individual to focus on emergency
- management. In addition, there is a considerable administrative burden associated with the federal
disaster assistance programs. If the emergency manager has other pressing duties he/she will not be able to oversee these administrative requirements. Another issue related to staffing is the education and training of staff who respond to disasters and emergencies, as sometimes people are put into these roles with little or no training. Still another issue is how to fund emergency management staff. A best practice is to have a dedicated emergency manager, as well as other personnel relevant to public health and emergency management. Many Tribal Nations have gone this route. Let’s hear from one of these emergency managers, Jeremie Fisher, Emergency Manager of the Cherokee Nation, by clicking on the orange “play” button. One option for Tribes to address staffing needs, if they are unable to hire a dedicated emergency manager, is to look to the Department of Interior agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, for assistance. The Indian Health Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA may also be able to provide assistance. State agencies may also provide assistance.
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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit: Jurisdictional Concerns
Another issue nearly all Tribal Nations face is the need for collaboration and coordination with neighboring jurisdictions and other partners. Tribal Nations that have checkerboard jurisdiction face this issue every day; however, this is also an issue for reservation-based Tribal Nations because natural disasters and public health emergencies, like infectious disease outbreaks, do not obey jurisdictional boundaries. Entering into agreements with neighboring jurisdictions and key partners is one best practice to address jurisdictional concerns. Language regarding Tribal sovereignty should be included from the outset of the negotiations so that the government-to-government relationship is clear. An agreement model that is particularly efficient is to create one umbrella agreement that covers the basic and general terms of the agreement, and then adding addenda to that agreement to address specific situations or concerns. Rather than entering into formal agreements, informal collaboration with other jurisdictions can also help address jurisdictional concerns before a disaster or emergency strikes. Another best practice in relation to jurisdictional concerns is to join with other Tribal Nations for preparedness, response, and recovery. Examples of these types of organizations are the United South and Eastern Tribes (with 26 member Tribes) for eastern and southern Tribal Nations, the Northwest Tribal Emergency Management Council (with 24 member Tribes) for Tribes in the Pacific Northwest, and the California Tribal Nations Emergency Management Council. There are many other organizations as well. Please see the Tribal Legal Preparedness Project resource library for a listing of other organizations that may interest you. Click on the orange “play” button to hear how Jeremie Fisher, Emergency Manager of the Cherokee Nation, has addressed jurisdictional concerns.
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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit: Communication
The breakdown of communication and resulting lack of information during and after disasters and emergencies is a common issue, as normal communication channels may not function. As a result, Tribal government employees may be confused about whether or not they should report to work. And, Tribal citizens and community members may not be able to receive necessary information related to evacuation, sheltering, and available resources. Tribal elders may need special care. In addition, important documents, such as emergency plans, may not be accessible. Legal preparedness comes into play here, as planning is a key component to effective communication. Some important things to have formally established through planning and policy are emergency chain of command, legal authority for certain actions, and methods of public messaging and notification. There are several best practices related to communication challenges. In relation to Tribal elders, establish a phone tree to check on these individuals to ensure their safety and comfort. If the elder does not answer the phone or the phone system is not operating, have a back up plan in place, such as having law enforcement make physical contact with elders. In terms of employees, place icons on employee badges to indicate who is essential personnel that must report during declared emergencies. That way there is no confusion regarding who must report. Click on the orange box to view the badge system Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma has implemented. Different color stars indicate different roles. To ensure that the community receives necessary communication, create an automated mass notification
- system. To really make sure this works, it is important to educate the community so they know to look for
information from these automated messages. Finally, ensure that important documents like emergency plans are available offline if there is no internet
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access during or after the event. Click on the orange “play” button to hear how Cassie Diver, Planning Researcher at Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, has addressed communication issues.
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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit: Planning
In order to effectively manage emergency response, appropriate Tribal plans must be in place. Indeed, it is often the case that such plans are required before Tribes can receive federal assistance through a Stafford Act declaration. Some best practices related to planning include: Developing new or updating current (and possibly outdated) essential emergency management plans such as: Emergency operations; All hazards; and, Pandemic flu plans. Developing new or updating current (and possibly outdated) disaster assistance plans that are required for federal disaster assistance like: Tribal Mitigation Plan; Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Administrative Plan; and, Public Assistance Administrative Plan. In addition, keeping all plans in one location is critical for easy access when such plan is needed - whether to use the plan in a training exercise or during and after an event, or to use when applying for disaster assistance.
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Click on the blue “play” buttons to hear how Ezra Bayles, Division Director Health and Community Services for Taos Pueblo, Ian Chisolm, Risk Manager for Taos Pueblo, and Tim Reeder, the New Mexico Department of Health N.E. Region Emergency Preparedness Specialist, worked together to prepare and test Taos Pueblo’s plans. Click on the orange “play” button to hear how Jeremie Fisher, Emergency Manager of the Cherokee Nation, has addressed planning.
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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit: Not Meeting the Disaster Declaration Threshold
Not all disasters rise to the level of meeting emergency declaration and disaster assistance thresholds. So what can a Tribal Nation do in these situations? One best practice is to offer low interest loans to Tribal members so they can rebuild and recover from the disaster. Another best practice is to partner with neighboring jurisdictions so that the damage amount meets the threshold and apply for disaster assistance as a sub-recipient.
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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit: Leadership Buy-In
Another issue is that Tribal leadership may not be aware of the importance of legal preparedness. Or, they may be focused on other topics that are important to the Tribal Nation. Some best practices related to buy-in from Tribal leadership include: Regular presentations to Tribal leadership regarding legal preparedness issues. These presentations should be conducted by high level officials or with such officials in attendance to indicate respect for Tribal leadership and, Tribal leadership attendance at preparedness meetings at the national, state, and Tribal level which may help raise awareness regarding the legal issues that arise in preparedness, response, and recovery.
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Tribal Legal Preparedness Best Practices Toolkit: Funding
The final issue we will discuss in this module is a critical issue to most Tribal Nations - funding for preparedness. As written, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act or PAHPRA does not provide preparedness funding directly for Tribal governments. Instead, money is given to the states for
- distribution. However, not all states actually distribute money to the Tribal Nations within their geographic
- boundaries. Additionally, this can be problematic for Tribal Nations that extend across multiple states.
Thus, Tribes and states must work together to address the needs of Tribal communities. While it is hoped that direct funding to Tribal governments will occur in the future, there are some best practices for the current funding mechanism. One is to work with the states to develop better methods of distributing the Public Health Emergency Preparedness or PHEP funds to Tribal Nations. Some states have discovered that their funding system was not working for the Tribes. One such state is Minnesota. Now entering into the fourth year, the Department of Health in Minnesota has implemented a three tier process for Tribal Nations to choose their funding level. If participating in the first tier, or partnership tier, the Tribe will receive $5,000 to attend local and regional meetings, as well as develop partnerships and collaborations. Tribal Nations that opt to participate in the second tier of funding, the project level, receive between $10,000 and $15,000. This money is used for specific projects, as well as meeting the requirements of tier one. The third tier, or base level, is for Tribes who feel their capacity allows for them to receive the base county amount (for this year, $27,163). These Tribal Nations have the same grant duties as the counties in Minnesota. A majority of Tribal Nations in Minnesota have chosen to receive the partnership level, or $5,000. A few Tribal Nations receive the full amount, the project level amount, or do not receive funding at all. Tribes can decide each year the level of funding they would like to receive for the next, based on their emergency preparedness
- capacity. Click on the orange box to view a table showing how Minnesota distributes their PHEP funds to
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Tribal Nations. Another best practice is to apply for assistance available to Tribal Nations from the federal government, including: The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program; The FEMA Homeland Security Grant Program; The Emergency Management Institute or EMI Tribal Curriculum training; and,
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s or SAMHSA’s crisis counseling.
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Final Thoughts
Click on the orange play button to hear some final thoughts from Jeremie Fisher of the Cherokee Nation. Click on the video to view a video providing additional information related to emergency preparedness.
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Resource Library
The Tribal Legal Preparedness Project has developed a resource library to provide relevant resources to Tribal Nations seeking to enhance their legal preparedness capacity. While most resources have a Tribal focus, some resources are included that are generally applicable to legal preparedness for public health emergencies and natural disasters. Please visit tlpp.pitt.edu to access the resource library. Additionally, a printable word version of this module will be available for download upon completion of this
- module. To access the document, please click on the resources tab in the top right hand corner of this
module.
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