More environmental justice from Obama's EPA

Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency announced that they'll be giving higher priority than before to environmental issues that affect Native Americans.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who has highlighted strengthening tribal partnerships as a top priority during her tenure, today announced an internal restructuring that brings EPA’s international and tribal programs together under one umbrella organization called the Office of International & Tribal Affairs (OITA). This restructuring was initiated in response to a request from the tribes to reconsider the proper location of the American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO).

“This change ensures that we approach our relationship with the sovereign tribal nations within our own country in the same way we approach our relationship with sovereign nations beyond U.S. borders,” said Administrator Jackson, “I am confident this move will result in new and positive directions for the EPA-Tribal partnership,” [sic]

The primary change of the restructuring is that the Indian affairs office will now fall under the Office of International Affairs rather than the Office of Water. The words "American Indian" have also been struck from the office title and replaced with "International & Tribal". In other words, the EPA is acknowledging that Indian tribes are their own separate nations distinct from the United States of America -- an "international" entity.

Indian reservations are governed differently than the rest of America. Local tribal councils generally have final authority, as opposed to the state or federal government. This allows Native American tribes to override state gambling laws, for example, and build casinos on their property. Still Indian reservations are usually considered parts of America. Combining the EPA's tribal affairs bureaucrats with its international affairs bureaucrats seems to suggest that Indian reservations are their own sovereign nations separate from the United States. It's unsurprising, then, that the change was made at a request from the Indian tribes themselves.

In the past, Jackson has spoken of the need for "environmental justice" -- affirmative action from the government relating to the environment. "We are building strong working relationships with tribes, communities of color, economically distressed cities and towns, young people and others, but this is just a start. We must include environmental justice principles in all of our decisions," she said in January.