The Federal Trust Doctrine: What Does It Mean for DoD?

Policy Overview DoD will meet its responsibleness to the tribes, recognize tribal sovereignty, consult before taking action, manage its lands consistent with the protection of tribal lands resources and traditional cultural properties. The upshot of this is trust responsibility shared by all federal agencies, obligation to consult when tribal lands resources or cultural properties at risk, duty of protection not limited to specific statutory obligations, agencies have broad discretion to consider duty, and discretion exercised to protect tribal resources will be upheld.