Requesting the immediate recission of any and all omb forms requiring tribes to comply with title VI of the Civil Rights Act as a condition of receiving American rescue plan funds
WHEREAS, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), established in 1972, serves all Federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribal governments by advocating for the improvement of health care delivery to AI/ANs, as well as upholding the Federal government’s trust responsibility to AI/AN Tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, the National Indian Health Board advocates for all AI/ANs on issues related to health care, and seeks to uphold Tribal sovereignty; and
WHERAS, the National Indian Health Board has been advocating on behalf of the Tribes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, tracking legislative and regulatory requirements for Tribes to respond to the pandemic. NIHB was made aware that the federal government is requiring Tribes to sign a form that such Tribe will comply with an inapplicable law in order to receive American Rescue Plan funds – this requirement is an infringement of Tribal sovereignty and especially abhorrent at a time when Tribes at their most vulnerable due to a global pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) distributed approximately $31.2 billion, the largest single investment of resources into American Indian and Alaska Native communities to directly combat the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19); and
WHEREAS, the Department of the Treasury included a form entitled “Title VI Assurances of Compliance with Civil Rights Requirements” in the packets that recipients must complete to receive ARPA funds. The Title VI Assurances form requires Recipients to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, among other requirements; and
WHEREAS, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act is a federal statute of general applicability and as such, does not apply to Indian Tribes; and
