NEPA settler colonialism: Michelle L. Edwards, ‘Resisting settler colonialism: comments from tribes on NEPA “modernization”‘, Environmental Sociology, 2024 | settler colonial studies blog

NEPA settler colonialism: Michelle L. Edwards, ‘Resisting settler colonialism: comments from tribes on NEPA “modernization”‘, Environmental Sociology, 2024

15Nov24

Abstract: In 1969, the United States passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which became a model for environmental policies across the globe. These regulations were intended to improve federal agency actions by bringing information on social and environmental impacts into decision-making. In 2020, the United States Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) drastically changed, or in their terms, ‘modernized’ NEPA regulations. Critics have called these changes socially and environmentally harmful. Indigenous peoples are disproportionately affected by changes to the NEPA process; thus, I argue that it is critical that we consider the viewpoints of Tribal-affiliated organizations and individuals on these changes. I analyze the officially submitted comments from Tribal-affiliated organizations and individuals on the 2020 NEPA rule changes. I provide quantitative and qualitative data demonstrating views on 1) the rulemaking process, 2) five specific NEPA changes, and 3) the proposed changes overall. Using these data, I explore how the NEPA changes represent continued settler colonialism, and how these comments represent a form of resistance.

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