Mississippi National Guard hosts Native-American consultation

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. (WDAM) – The Mississippi National Guard and National Guard representatives from five other states have been meeting with members of several Native-American tribes this week.

The goal has been to update tribe members on construction projects and other activities taking place on traditional Native-American lands that are part of National Guard installations.

“It’s a federal regulation to keep the Native-Americans informed,” said Rita McCarty, Mississippi National Guard Cultural Resources manager. “The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) or Section 106, mandates that we do that.

“We present plans and drawings and reports that we’ve done, if we’ve done archaeological surveys.”

The meetings, which ran from Tuesday through Thursday this week, were part of the 2024 Government to Government Consultation.

States including Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina were involved.

Members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma were among those participating this week.

“They help us protect these sites,” said Lindsey Bilyeu, NHPA compliance review/program coordinator with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

“We depend on them to be stewards on the ground, because Choctaw Nation, we are the descendants of Trail of Tears survivors, so we don’t get to come back to Mississippi very often, so it’s important to have people to partner with.”

Similar meeting will take place next year in Nashville, Tennessee.

Camp Shelby last hosted a Native-American Consultation in 2018.

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