Rising 65 feet in the eastern United States, the Miamisburg Mound stands as one of the largest conical earthworks built by the Indigenous Adena Culture, holding a history that spans a couple thousand years. Across the country, tribal leaders in Oklahoma are raising alarms that proposed federal legal changes could leave sacred ancestral sites like this one vulnerable to development.
The Trump administration and Congress are separately pursuing changes to the National Historic Preservation Act, a 60-year-old statute that governs how federal agencies interact with states, tribes, and local governments regarding development proposals. Based on NPR’s reporting, the act’s Section 106 currently grants local governments, tribes, and states the right to confer with federal agencies concerning redesign projects and development proposals in order to reduce damage to locations. The proposed revisions would narrow what’s considered damaging to a site and make consultation optional.
Proposed Permitting Changes and the Debate Over Infrastructure Speeds
Proponents of the legislative adjustments argue that the current regulatory framework causes too much of a delay when it comes to approving energy projects. Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico addressed the need for a faster timeline.
America needs to be able to build things in years, not in decades.
Advocates say the proposed changes should streamline the permitting process. Yet tribal officials warn that the changes could undermine the responsibility the federal government has to cooperate with tribal nations.
Forced Displacement and the Distance to Ancestral Lands
There are 38 federally recognized tribal nations in Oklahoma. Historical federal policies and violated treaties during the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in the forced removal of groups who originally lived in Ohio to Oklahoma. Chief Ben Barnes of the Shawnee Tribe asserts that the National Historic Preservation Act should remain as is.
The Section 106 consultation process allows the Shawnee Tribe and other tribes to make sure that sacred sites, such as the earthworks in Ohio or ancestral burial grounds or places of sacred memory, are preserved.
Stressing that these safeguards are equally vital for their present-day communities, Chief Barnes underscored the necessity of guaranteeing Native Americans a mandatory role in the proceedings rather than a discretionary one.
Blake Norton, an official with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, points out that these historic locations represent far more to them than places needing development. He views it as erasing the dignity of his forebears and ignoring the deep bond that Native people share with these locations.
And for what? So a project can be completed? So that capitalism can continue?
Senator Heinrich says he’s speaking with tribal leaders about possible compromises on the bill. For now, tribal officials maintain that any provision rendering their involvement optional strips away essential protections for ancestral heritage.
