LM and tribal partners touring LM’s Rifle, Colorado, Disposal Site during a 2019 Navajo-Hopi-DOE Quarterly Technical Exchange Meeting.
LM and tribal partners touring LM’s Rifle, Colorado, Disposal Site during a 2019 Navajo-Hopi-DOE Quarterly Technical Exchange Meeting.

This past year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) and the Navajo Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation/Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (AML/UMTRA) Department were looking for innovative ways to stay connected to community members and identify projects to benefit all entities. With new faces and new outreach needs on the Navajo Nation, LM and AML/UMTRA successfully re-engaged the Tribal Intergovernmental Relations Group (TIGR), which hasn’t met since 2019.

In 2017, LM set out to build a federal and tribal collaborative outreach effort on the Navajo Nation between DOE, AML/UMTRA, and the Hopi Tribe. TIGR was formed and was initially comprised of an LM public participation specialist, LM site managers, LM Strategic Partner (LMSP) staff, Navajo AML/UMTRA staff, and representatives from the Hopi Tribe Department of Natural Resources. 

Members of the group focused on coordinating participation in community outreach activities and materials and STEM opportunities. The group would often act as a sounding board for LM-developed materials and would join LM and LMSP staff outreach events, such as Navajo Nation fairs. Around 2019, changes in leadership within LM and AML affected the consistency of regular group meetings, and the group slowly stopped meeting altogether. Since then, LM has built a stronger team and approach to outreach on the Navajo Nation, only to be slowed down by the pandemic. 

“The group is necessary to discuss issues outside the scheduled quarterly and technical exchange meetings,” said, Norman Honie, Jr. with the Hopi Tribe Department of Natural Resources and an original group member. “Members have the opportunity to discuss topics other than scientific issues. This form of communication is very important if federal projects are to succeed in Indian Country when federal officials hear tribal stakeholders' concerns.”

With the new attention, LM wanted to include additional representation to help round out the committee. LM added a member to the group from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and requests have been made to the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“As we strive to continue to build a robust outreach program on the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation, our tribal and federal committee members bring expertise and ideas that help all of us work together cohesively to better address the outreach needs of our tribal communities,” said LM Public Participation Specialist Shawn Montgomery. 

The TIGR team meets virtually every month on the second Wednesday of the month. 

“The group looks forward to a time, post-pandemic, when we will stand side by side in person at outreach events where we can provide a better understanding of the roles that each agency plays regarding the four Navajo Nation sites,” added Montgomery.