What is Self-Governance?

Tribal Transportation Self-Governance at the Department of Transportation

The Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program (TTSGP) provides an option for Tribal Nations to take greater control over certain transportation programs and funding administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The program, created by the FAST Act and codified at 23 U.S.C. § 207, allows Tribes to negotiate a Self-Governance compact and funding agreement with DOT to manage eligible transportation programs, services, functions, and activities (PSFAs).

The program is partly based on Tribal Self-Governance under ISDEAA and uses some ISDEAA rules, but it is a separate law. Its goal is to give Tribes more flexibility, control, and decision-making power over eligible DOT transportation funding, while cutting down on unnecessary paperwork.

With a DOT Self-Governance agreement, a Tribe can combine eligible transportation funding and programs that would normally be handled through different DOT processes. This might include Tribal Transportation Program funding, Tribal Transit Program formula funding, and other DOT funding the Tribe qualifies for, if it meets the rules for each funding source.

Public Law 102-477: Integrating Employment, Training, and Related Services

Public Law 102-477 (“477”) gives Tribal Nations and Tribal organizations the authority to combine eligible federal employment, training, education, and related-service programs into a single, coordinated Tribal plan. Rather than administering multiple federal programs through separate funding streams, eligibility processes, budgets, and reporting systems, a Tribe can integrate participating programs and resources to create a more comprehensive system designed around its own workforce and community priorities.

With an approved 477 Plan, a Tribe chooses which eligible federal programs to combine. This allows them to coordinate services, pool funding, simplify administration, and use more flexibility to help people based on their needs instead of following separate federal rules. The goal is to improve services, cut down on paperwork, support Tribal economic growth, and help Tribes reach their own goals.

Self-Governance and 477 both provide Tribes greater flexibility, but they do it in different ways.

Self-Governance is principally about who controls and administers a federal program, while 477 is principally about integrating funding from multiple programs into a single Tribal plan.

ISDEAA is primarily an assumption authority. It allows a Tribal Nation to assume responsibility for eligible federal programs, services, functions, and activities (PFSAs) that the federal government would otherwise administer. Through a Self-Determination contract or Self-Governance funding agreement, responsibility for carrying out those federal functions—and the associated federal funding—is transferred to the Tribe.

In contrast, 477 is mainly about integration. It usually does not give Tribes the right to take over a federal program. Instead, it lets a Tribe combine and redesign eligible employment, training, and related service programs and funding that it already has the right to receive, bringing them together into one Tribal system.

In practice, they can be complementary authorities. A Tribe can use Self-Governance to assume eligible programs and use 477 authority to integrate eligible employment, training, education, and related services.

Put simply, ISDEAA gives Tribal governments responsibility for federal programs, while 477 lets Tribal governments break down federal funding barriers and combine eligible programs into a system that matches Tribal priorities.

HEARTH Act: Advancing Tribal Control Over Tribal Lands

The Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership Act (HEARTH Act) provides an option for Tribal Nations to assume more control over leasing and using their trust and restricted lands. With this law, a Tribe can create its own leasing rules and send them to the Secretary of the Interior for approval. After the rules are approved, the Tribe can handle and approve surface leases on its own, without needing the Department of the Interior to sign off on each lease.

This change is a big step forward for Tribal self-determination. Instead of depending on the Bureau of Indian Affairs to review and approve each lease, Tribal Nations that take part can set up their own systems, make decisions in their own communities, and shape leasing policies to fit their own needs and goals.

The HEARTH Act can help Tribes reach many goals, such as building homes, growing businesses, farming, using renewable energy, offering recreation, and supporting culture and education. Because the Act cuts down on federal steps for each lease, it can help Tribes get projects done faster and make planning for housing, business, and infrastructure more predictable.

The HEARTH Act is not the same as ISDEAA. It does not give Tribes control over a federal program. Instead, it takes away a layer of federal approval and gives Tribal governments more direct control over their own lands.

Simply put, the HEARTH Act lets Tribal Nations stop asking the federal government for approval on each land lease. Instead, they can make those decisions themselves, if they follow their own leasing laws that have been approved by the federal government.

Tribal Forest Protection Act: Advancing Tribal Stewardship of Federal Lands

The Tribal Forest Protection Act (TFPA) gives Tribal Nations a way to suggest and complete projects on U.S. Forest Service lands that are next to their own forests or rangelands. This law helps Tribes address threats such as wildfires, disease, and poor forest conditions and supports efforts to restore the land.

TFPA supports Tribal self-determination by letting Tribal Nations take a bigger part in deciding how nearby federal lands are restored and managed. When reviewing Tribal proposals, the law allows for factors like treaty rights, cultural and historical ties to the land, biological and archaeological details, and the knowledge and skills of Tribal members to be considered.

This law became even more important when Congress allowed certain TFPA projects to be carried out through ISDEAA “638” agreements. With this change, Tribes and Tribal organizations can handle the management and other tasks for approved TFPA projects using a special ISDEAA contract process.

TFPA is more focused than the broader Self-Governance options under Titles IV and V of ISDEAA. It does not give Tribes the general right to take over Forest Service programs. Instead, it offers Tribes an option to be partners in managing and restoring federal land projects that impact their homelands, resources, cultures, and communities.