Guest Editorial
Preserving History at FHWA
 The recent history of the United States of America is one of
pride in diverse cultures. For Native Americans, history and culture are
especially intertwined. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognizes
the importance of preserving that connection by ensuring that the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy Act and The National Historic Preservation
Act of 1966 are carried out on the Nation's transportation projects. These laws
and their implementing regulations are intended to ensure the preservation of
historical and sacred sites, while safeguarding the environment.
FHWA's Federal Lands Highway
Program provides financial resources and transportation engineering services
for the planning, design, construction, and rehabilitation of the highways and
bridges that provide access to traverse Federal and tribal lands. The program's
vision is to create the best transportation system while balancing the values
attached to those lands.
Organizations such as the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials have critically
acclaimed the program for innovations in the design and construction oversight
of transportation projects so that they are built with minimum impact on the
surrounding land, the cultural history, and the local environment. For example,
Federal Lands undertook a project on the Hopi Reservation to remove overhanging
and unstable rocks that threatened a community's only access road. The area was
a sacred site, but with close cooperation and partnering with the Hopi leaders,
the project was completed successfully.
One of the methodologies utilized
by the Federal Lands Highway Program is context sensitive solutions. This
collaborative, interdisciplinary approach requires that the design of a
transportation project or facility fit its physical setting while preserving
scenic, aesthetic, historic, community, and environmental resources.
Jointly administered by the Federal
Lands Highway Program and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Reservation
Roads Program provides funding to tribes to carry out transportation projects.
Currently, 565 tribes within the United States are federally recognized. The
preservation of their tribal cultures is critical to the success of the design
and construction of any project funded through the Indian Reservation Roads
Program. Since the passage of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, many tribes are carrying out
their Indian Reservation Roads Program directly with FHWA. As a result, FHWA
has become deeply involved with all aspects of tribal transportation.
For example, FHWA supports tribes
in their road-building and maintenance activities through the Tribal Technical
Assistance Program, which facilitates the transfer of valuable skills and
knowledge to the tribal transportation workforce. FHWA also continues to play a
role in the annual National Tribal Transportation Conference, which this year
will be held in Nashville, TN, in November. (For more information on the
conference, see the advertisement on the inside back cover of this issue.)
Understanding, appreciating, and respecting tribal sovereignty and culture have
never been more important.
For more on the importance of
safeguarding cultural resources, see "Preserving Yesterday While Designing for
Tomorrow" on page 16 in this issue of Public
Roads. The article provides insight into the tools and methods that
various departments of transportation are using to help identify and protect
cultural resources.
Native
Americans have a history unlike any other in America, and their lands should
always be considered sacred and sovereign whenever a project is undertaken on
or near them.
Robert Sparrow
Indian Reservation Roads Program Manager
Office of Federal Lands Highway
Federal Highway Administration
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