Integrating Federal tourism assets to strengthen Native tourism opportunities

25 U.S.C. § 4353

• Title: 25 — Indians
• Chapter: 44A — NATIVE AMERICAN TOURISM AND IMPROVING VISITOR EXPERIENCE

Text

(a) Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of the Interior
The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior shall update the respective management plans and tourism initiatives of the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior to include Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
(b) Other agencies
The head of each agency that has recreational travel or tourism functions or complementary programs shall update the respective management plans and tourism strategies of the agency to include Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
(c) Native American tourism plans
The plans shall outline policy proposals—
(A) to improve travel and tourism data collection and analysis;
(B) to increase the integration, alignment, and utility of public records, publications, and Web sites maintained by Federal agencies;
(C) to create a better user experience for domestic travelers and international visitors;
(D) to align Federal agency Web sites and publications;
(E) to support national tourism goals;
(F) to identify agency programs that could be used to support tourism capacity building and help sustain tourism infrastructure in Native American communities;
(G) to develop innovative visitor portals for parks, landmarks, heritage and cultural sites, and assets that showcase and respect the diversity of the indigenous peoples of the United States;
(H) to share local Native American heritage through the development of bilingual interpretive and directional signage that could include or incorporate English and the local Native American language or languages; and
(I) to improve access to transportation programs related to Native American community capacity building for tourism and trade, including transportation planning for programs related to visitor enhancement and safety.
In developing the plan under paragraph (1), the head of each agency shall consult with Indian tribes and the Native American community to identify appropriate levels of inclusion of the Indian tribes and Native Americans in Federal tourism activities, public records and publications, including Native American tourism information available on Web sites.
(d) Technical assistance
The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall enter into a memorandum of understanding or cooperative agreement with an entity or organization with a demonstrated record in tribal communities of defining, introducing, developing, and sustaining American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian tourism and related activities in a manner that respects and honors native traditions and values.
The memorandum of understanding or cooperative agreement described in paragraph (1) shall formalize a role for the organization or entity to serve as a facilitator between the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce and the Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations—
(A) to identify areas where technical assistance is needed through consultations with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to empower the Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to participate fully in the tourism industry; and
(B) to provide a means for the delivery of technical assistance and coordinate the delivery of the assistance to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations in collaboration with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and other entities with distinctive experience, as appropriate.
Subject to the availability of appropriations, the head of each Federal agency, including the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Labor shall obligate any funds made available to the head of the agency to cover any administrative expenses incurred by the organization or entity described in paragraph (1) in carrying out programs or activities of the agency.
The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce shall coordinate with the organization or entity described in paragraph (1) to develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of the entity or organization in strengthening tourism opportunities for Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
(e) Reports
Not later than 1 year after September 23, 2016, and occasionally thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce shall each submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report that describes—
(1) the manner in which the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as applicable, is including Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations in management plans;
(2) the efforts of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as applicable, to develop departmental and agency tourism plans to support tourism programs of Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations;
(3) the manner in which the entity or organization described in subsection (d)(1) is working to promote tourism to empower Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to participate fully in the tourism industry; and
(4) the effectiveness of the entity or organization described in subsection (d)(1) based on the metrics developed under subsection (d)(4).

History

(Pub. L. 114–221, §4, Sept. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 848.)