Tribes have a direct government-to-government relationship with the U.S. government wherein no decisions about their lands and people are made without their consent. In Arizona, for example, American Indian reservations occupy nearly 30 percent of the land. Native Americans have a legal and moral claim to significant quantities of water as well. Because of their special legal standing in the United States, tribes are not just another group of stakeholders to be considered in the research and policy process. The purpose of this paper is to provide a legal and political background for interactions between the United States and tribal governments and provide models for those interactions, with special attention to research and outreach.

The research presented here documents institutional and organizational factors affecting fire management on tribal lands. Two case studies of fires occurring on tribal lands in Arizona provide insights into how these factors converged to influence the course of events. This study considers historic as well as current conditions and events because these affect whether or not people are receptive to information, to planning, and to working together. Though it focuses on decision making within tribes and agencies responsible for tribal lands, its findings are relevant for other locations as well.

This ōban triptych depicts Minamoto Yoshitsune 源 義經 (center left) and his retainers after their victory over the troops of Minamoto no Yoshinaka at the battle of Hōjūjidono in 1184. The warrior monk Musashibō Benkei 武藏坊 辨慶 sits to the right of Yoshitsune. In the lower-right corner lie the decapitated heads of Nenoi Ōyata 根井 大弥太 and Gonrokurō 権六郎.