Agency: U.S. Navy Mid-Region
Locations: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania Installations
Deadline: August 17, 2026, 5:00 PM ET
This project is for a study to document the known and potential cultural affiliations of federally recognized American Indian tribes (tribes) with Department of the Navy (Navy) installations, facilities, cultural resources and archaeological collections in the Commander Navy Region Mid-Atlantic (CNRMA) Mid-Region area of responsibility (AOR). The concerning installations associated with this area are Sub-Base New London, Naval Station New Port, and Philadelphia Navy Yard. As a federal agency, the Navy has a mandated trust obligation to consult with federally recognized American Indian tribes (tribes) that have current or ancestral connections to and resources owned, managed or potentially affected by the Navy. Federal statutes, regulations, policies and executive orders, additionally including Department of Defense (DoD) and Navy policies, mandate government-to-government consultation with tribes to ensure tribal treaty rights and interests are protected and considered in conjunction with Navy management of regional cultural resources of interest to tribes. At present, the respective installations do not consistently consult with the same tribes, and some tribes consulted with have no known historical, geographical, cultural or other specific ties to the AOR. This study will help streamline and better identify tribes with whom the Navy should consider consulting with regarding future Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) consultations, as well as consultations on undertakings or other cultural resources management actions in the Mid-Region AOR.
The project area shall focus on Navy owned/managed properties within the Mid-Region AOR, including facilities at Sub-Base New London, Naval Station New Port, and Philadelphia Navy Yard. While the study will more generally address broad trends related to past and current tribal occupations and settlement in the region, the identification of such tribes shall be connected to Navy lands and facilities only. These include the principal shore-based installations as well as special areas and annexes associated with/managed by each of the principal installations, further including recreational areas, training ranges and support activity sites. Maps indicating the locations of the principal installations are included in this Statement of Work.
While the term “cultural affiliation” is derived from a specific statute, the results of this study will facilitate consultation and compliance with several legislative and policy requirements. In the NAGPRA, cultural affiliation is defined as “a relationship of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced historically or prehistorically between a present-day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization and an identifiable earlier group” (25 U.S.C. § 3001.2(3)). Adapting this concept to the current study, the primary objective is to identify instances where this relationship of shared group identity may involve the Late Pre-Contact/Contact/Early Post-Contact era (circa 1500-1800) occupation or use of lands now owned, managed or otherwise used by the Navy in the specified study area. This concept can be further related to requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which calls for consideration of the effects of federal undertakings on resources “of religious and cultural significance to” American Indian tribes (54 U.S.C. § 306108). Likewise, the American Indian Freedom Act (AIFA) and Executive Order 13007 (Indian Sacred Sites) require federal agencies to protect and allow tribal member access to sacred sites on federal property for religious practices. The Archeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) further mandates that federal agencies notify and consult with tribes on the issuance of an archaeological research permit that may adversely impact a cultural site of religious or cultural importance to tribes (16 U.S.C. § 470cc.(c)).
Please see attachments for additional information.
