Tribal Consultation

Tribal Consultation Agencies and Tribes, for the most part, have similar feelings about what constitutes consultation, how it should be conducted, and what constitutes successful consultation. Experience reveals that mutual respect must be the basis upon which successful consultation builds, and that coming to a final agreement is not as important as building ongoing channels of communication. Successful consultation begins early in the planning stages, and is predicated on each party being knowledgeable about the project and the priorities and desires of the other parties. Though not without cost, successful consultation results in better and lasting final agreements (NATHPO 2005).