Agreements

Tribal collaboration plays a significant role in the success of the Buy-Back Program’s land consolidation activities. Tribes have the opportunity to actively participate in the process by partnering with the Program to conduct activities such as landowner outreach. Tribes are encouraged to become involved in the Program through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) if desired. Previously, the Program also used cooperative agreements to formally partner with Tribes. See the Program’s FAQs on Engagement with Tribal Nations for more information.

MOAs may be used whenever there is an agreement to exchange information or coordinate programs. They are used to optimize the benefits of each party's efforts. Each party is responsible for contributing its own effort. Resources, such as funds, are not exchanged.

It is important to note that Tribes are not required to enter into agreements to participate in the Program. However, MOAs do facilitate information sharing between the Program and Tribes, and the Program is unable to share certain data products with Tribes in the absence of an agreement.

MOA Template

  • Prior to implementation, Tribes that would like to partner with the Program via an MOA will be invited to discuss the level of Tribal engagement they would like to have during implementation.
  • The Tribe will prepare an authorization that contains: a designated point of contact for preparing the MOA, an authorized signatory, and a request for landowner information.  The Program’s TRAs provide detailed guidance to Tribes on preparing and submitting the required information for an MOA.
     
  • The MOA Template, which the Program completes, will be informed by these discussions and is intended to capture the roles and responsibilities of the Program and the Tribe during implementation.
     
  • Once the MOA Template has been completed by the Program, it will be provided to the Tribe for review and signature. An authorized signatory must then sign the MOA on the Tribe’s behalf to acknowledge understanding of the terms and conditions within the agreement.
     
  • Although this MOA template will be completed with individualized Tribal information and may capture the Tribe’s preferred implementation roles and responsibilities as discussed with the Program, the terms and conditions contained within the agreement may not be modified, with the exception of compelling circumstances to be determined on a case-by-case basis.  This standardization is to ensure efficiency and fairness to all parties choosing to enter into MOAs in light of the Program's limited time and resources set by the Cobell Settlement.

 

Memorandum of Agreement Template

Was this page helpful?

Please provide a comment