Engaging Diverse Stakeholder perspectives

Tribal Leaders

Tribal leaders are the elected officials, appointed representatives or sometimes spiritual leaders who make decisions about tribal governance, public spending and investment and who design and deliver the public services in their community. They often have knowledge about and access to other public funding opportunities from state or federal sources. There are 573 federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native tribal communities. Of those communities that are impacted by coal mining activity, they face unique opportunities and challenges as they transition to other means of energy production. Tribal sovereignty and self-governance remain at the core of these individual and distinct tribal nations. Tribal leaders bring deep knowledge of the issues that most impact their respective tribes.

What They Bring to the Table

• Knowledge of the economic impacts of closure
• Knowledge of the history of the land prior to mining
• Knowledge of the cultural and spiritual impacts to mining activity
• Understanding of tribal laws or ordinances surrounding closures
• Understanding of state or federal laws surrounding closures
• Connections to economic development agencies
• Public planning capacity
• Relationships with state and federal lawmakers to secure favorable policies/funding
• Relationship with the closing utility or mine owners
• Ability to change local rules and regulations (e.g. zoning) to accommodate a new community vision

Common Concerns for Successful Transition

• Community will have unrealistic expectations for local public funding for transition
• Carving out time and budget to address transition planning and implementation
• Finding additional expertise to support aspects of transition (finance, engineering, grant-writing, etc.)
• Community will not have full reclamation of land
• Community will be shut out of the conversation over decommissioning with the federal government
• Community will exponentially have higher rates of unemployment, which are already statistically high
• Community will suffer from environmental impacts of decommissioning
• Access to water and water quality will be impacted by decommissioning
• Sacred sites may be compromised

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