Next Steps
- Increase
communication
- Education
process- Tribes need to take active role in educating other response
partners as to the history and current situation of the Tribe
- This
process should cover the topics of treaty rights and sovereignty
- Understand
sovereignty of the Tribes as it applies to partnerships
- Government
to government relationship status should be recognized and input
gathered from EACH Tribe
- In
the health field, understand that Tribal Health
Directors are not able to make some decisions as they
are not authorized to do so by council.
Their meetings are designed to address common health goals.
- NIMS-
using the National Incident Management System will facilitate the
on-scene and exercise communication process.
Planning/Preparedness
- At
schools, plan for emergencies and be sure to include mental health
professionals in the process.
Furthermore, consider that the mental health effects are going to
be long lasting and plan for a lengthy debrief.
- Make
public aware of the planning process…answer the questions
- How
do we (certain response group) plan to protect the welfare of the public?
- What
is the team of individuals (response team) going to do in the Indian Community
to respond to an incident?
- The
Tribal Emergency Response Committee (TERC) is an excellent way to
facilitate the planning and preparedness process at a Tribal level as it
includes members from a variety of departments within the Tribe.
- Educate
local response partners as to the planning efforts of the Tribe. For example, local response partners are
often curious about how tribal sovereignty or treaty right affect response
relationships, but are often hesitant to ask.
- Coordinate
response planning with local health, law enforcement, and other first
responders. The State of Michigan
has encouraged each local health department to include Tribal partners in
response.
- HRSA
advisory committee is required to involve Tribes. Tribes should contact the State of Michigan
if they are not being welcomed to the group.
- Funding
allocations make it difficult for some Tribes to participate in the
planning/exercising process.
- In the
planning process, posting general plans on the GLITC website or MIHAN
could assist others who are in the plan writing phase.
- Attending
regional HRSA and EPC meetings is recommended to gather more information
and to share more information from a Tribal perspective.
- Tribes
are encouraged to “plug into” the local planning groups/processes.
- Support
of emergency preparedness planning by the Tribal Council is VERY
important. Some councils
have created TERCs to formally show support of
the planning process. Attendance of
tribal chairs at conferences such as this one allows them to learn more
about what is being done to plan and respond to various events.
- All
response personnel need to be proactive in the planning process…there may
not be anything in one’s job description about emergency planning, but it
needs to be done.
- Tribes
are often stretched thin as far as personnel and time goes when it comes
to trying to plan in many counties which include multiple jurisdictions.
Jurisdiction
- Who
will be in charge for a number of different scenarios?
- Needs
to come from a federal level based on court decisions.
- MOAs/MOUs can facilitate resolving the jurisdictional
issue until federal level clarification is obtained.
- Disasters
don’t recognize borders!
- Changing
infrastructure and response tactics takes time.
- Adoption
and use of NIMS helps to mitigate jurisdictional issues on scene until a
formal federal policy is in place.
- Cross deputization in the law enforcement groups has
alleviated some of the jurisdictional issues.
Tribal Liaisons
- Finding
out how EACH Tribe views the role of the liaison is important
- Developing
personal relationships helps to best understand one another.
- Respecting
the fact that each Tribe is its own government and entity is very
important.
- Inter-Tribal
Councils and meetings such as this one help to bring everyone
together.