10/31/2026
34 years ago, on October 30, 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed into law amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act creating the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) program. For the first time, Tribal Nations, not the federal government nor the states, would be empowered under the law to assert their sovereignty and decide for themselves what places were of historic, religious, or cultural importance, and how to preserve them. This work had already been going on for years at that point, but only in 1992 was the right of Tribal Nations to preserve their own heritage enshrined into law. More importantly, the law requires federal agencies to consult with Tribal Nations, to recognize that sovereign government-to-government relationship and let Tribes decide for themselves which sites are important and how to protect them. Today, 239 THPOs perform this sacred work day in and day out for the Nations they serve.
Today, these hard-fought gains are under existential threat, most imminently in the form of the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2026, which would impose federal constraints on how Tribal Nations define their cultural heritage and what constitutes an effect on places of religious and cultural importance. The bill restricts consultation and undermines the right of Tribes to participate in decisions affecting their heritage, history, and future. It also places wholly unqualified federal agencies in the position of making decisions about sacred places while threatening to assume control over Tribal preservation programs developed to reflect each Nation’s unique knowledge and lifeways if they fail to meet a set of arbitrary DC-imposed benchmarks.
This assault on our sovereignty, developed behind closed doors and without any meaningful input from Tribal Leaders, THPOs, or NATHPO, is unacceptable.
NATHPO will continue to honor the work of the THPOs who have labored to protect Native places for the last 34 years, as well as those who did the work of THPOs before there were THPOs, by fighting against cynical attempts to undermine Tribal self-determination under the guise of permitting reform. We stand ready to work with anyone who wants to improve processes, but we will not compromise on our sovereignty, and we will not be silent while officials in Washington try to make it easier to bulldoze Native places and Tribal heritage in the name of “progress.”
We hope you will continue to stand with us.
