Sustaining Tribal Fisheries: U.S. Economic Relief Policies during COVID-19

Kelsey Leonard

doi:10.3390/su132212366

Abstract

This article reviews the individual spend plans of U.S. states granted a funding allocation under Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to identify consistency with legislative mandates to support Tribal commercial, subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial fisheries negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, this study identifies state discursive practices in supporting Tribal sovereignty in fisheries management for the advancement of Indigenous Ocean justice. State spending plans (n = 22) publicly available and submitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before July 2021 were reviewed. Few of the state spend plans listed impacts to Tribal fisheries due to the pandemic. Only two state plans included Tribal consultation and direct economic relief for commercial, subsistence, cultural, and/or ceremonial losses faced by neighboring Tribes and Tribal citizens. Overall, the protections within the CARES Act for Tribal fisheries were not integrated into state spend plans. The article identifies best practices for state fisheries relief policy content that is affirming of Tribal fishing rights and uses them to help address the ongoing pandemic crisis facing Tribal fisheries. These findings have relevance for future emergency relief programs that are inclusive of Tribal Nations. Honoring Tribal sovereignty and the federal trust responsibility must be the cornerstone of shared sustainable fisheries.

Highlights

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Tribal Nations in the United States, with many American Indians/Alaska Natives dying from the virus at twice the rate of whiteAmericans [1,2,3]
Tribes and Tribal fishery participants were not included in the spend plans of state governments provided an allocation of Sec. 12005 funding by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Act state spending plans the levels of inclusion or erasure of Tribal Nations as well as subsistence and ceremonial fishing

Summary

Introduction

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Tribal Nations in the United States, with many American Indians/Alaska Natives dying from the virus at twice the rate of whiteAmericans [1,2,3]. In addition to managing the human health crisis, Tribes faced economic and cultural crises due to closures and the restructuring of fisheries. Despite these compounding stressors devasting Tribal resources and responsibilities, emerging studies on the impacts of COVID-19 on U.S fisheries fail to account for the impacts on Tribal Nations [4,5,6,7].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion