Inter-Tribal Environmental Council
The Inter-Tribal Environmental Council (ITEC) was set up in 1992[1] to protect the health of Native Americans, their natural resources , and environment. To accomplish this ITEC provides technical support, training and environmental services in a variety of disciplines. Currently, there are over forty ITEC member tribes in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.[2] The ITEC is an example of the Native American Pan-Indian Organizations and Efforts.
The ITEC office has a full-time staff of twenty-two who organize and provide services to the individual ITEC member tribes. In addition, they assist individual tribes with other environmentally related issues and concerns as they arise.
The Cherokee Nation, as the leading agency in the ITEC, has been at the forefront of protecting natural resources, health, and the environment for the tribal community. Through their five stationary air-monitoring stations and one mobile air-monitoring station, the largest tribally owned and operated system of its kind in the United States, they provide quality environmental data to rural and tribal communities.[3]
ITEC has received funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.[4]
Example of Native Americans' concern for the Environment[edit]
Marine Mammal Protection Act: Reauthorization Issues for the 107th Congress
Native American culture and tradition has always revered animals as a part of nature that must be preserved. Historically, Native Americans have relied on animals for subsistence needs; so naturally many tribes and indigenous groups are concerned about the management of marine mammals. The long-term goals of tribes and indigenous groups under the Marine Mammal Protection Act are economic stability, resource sustainability, and regulatory certainty. Native Americans also believe that managing our environment and our interactions with animals "fosters economic vitality, environmental health, and rational management of natural resources."[5]