This information was developed to help federal agencies carry out their responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The 1992 amendments to the Act and revised Section 106 regulations, effective January 11, 2001, expanded the role of Indian tribes. Section 800.2 (c) of the Section 106 Regulations lists the various agencies and officials who should be consulted in the Section 106 process. Included within the outline are Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs), who have assumed State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) functions, and other federally recognized tribes. These officials and parties are to act as primary consulting parties when undertakings impact historic properties within reservation boundaries. Agencies are also required to consult with the THPOs and federally recognized Indian tribes about effects on properties of religious and cultural significance outside reservation boundaries. The amendments do not change the role of non-federally recognized tribes in the Section 106 process. Federal agencies may invite non-federally recognized tribes and members of the public who show a "demonstrated interest" to participate in consultation. Visit the Advisory Council’s website for more information about consulting with Indian tribes in the Section 106 process.
To facilitate the Section 106 consultation process in South Carolina the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) queried Indian tribes with an historic affiliation to the state to determine which tribes wanted to participate. In December 1999 we sent questionnaires to 15 federally recognized Indian tribes (Appendix A), 8 non-federally recognized tribes living in South Carolina and 3 related organizations (Appendix B), asking them if they would like to be participants in the Section 106 review process, and, if so, what areas of the state they were interested in. The questionnaire was followed by phone calls to each of the federally recognized tribes, and a second questionnaire was sent to those tribes that had not responded. In all, 10 tribes responded to our questionnaire either verbally or in writing and the results are presented in Appendix C. This information, of course, in no way abrogates or diminishes the federal agency of any of its responsibilities to identify and consult with Indian tribes and others under federal law.
There are two important caveats to the information contained in these documents. First, although a good faith effort was made to identify tribes that might have an interest in South Carolina, we do not claim that the information provided is complete. Additional tribes may also have an interest in being consulting parties for undertakings in South Carolina, and it is ultimately the federal agency’s responsibility to identify and notify such tribes. Second, there are 8 federally recognized tribes that did not respond to our questionnaire; however, a "no response" to our questionnaire cannot be equated with no interest in South Carolina. As a result, consultation with these tribes may still be required.
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