Tribal Analytics Mapping Project
The Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), developed the Tribal Mapping Analytics Project to help Tribes strengthen their ability to collect, manage, and analyze animal movement data. Through this project, a Tribal representative was secured on the USGS Corridor Mapping Team, which was created in 2018 in response to Department of the Interior Secretary’s Order 3362.
This collaboration focuses on providing technical assistance to Tribes in mapping migration corridors for elk, mule deer, and pronghorn. These maps help identify migration routes, seasonal stopover areas, barriers to animal movement, and other potential threats, while also helping guide conservation and restoration efforts. A key goal of the project is to ensure Tribes have equitable access to the tools, training, and support needed to map ungulate migration corridors on Tribal lands.
The project supports workshops and training sessions to help Tribes analyze wildlife movement data and build long-term capacity. The NAFWS Tribal Mapping Analyst is available to assist Tribes with processing ungulate movement data, developing data collection methods, creating programming tools, and building data management systems.
In partnership with United Tribes Technical College (UTTC), the project has expanded its capacity to securely store Tribal data on protected Tribal servers for processing and analysis. This partnership strengthens NAFWS’ ability to support Tribal data analysis while upholding Tribal data sovereignty.
UTTC, located in Bismarck, North Dakota, is operated by five Tribal Nations in North and South Dakota: the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, the Spirit Lake Tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. UTTC has served more than 10,000 students from over 75 federally recognized Indian Tribes across the nation. As a 1994 Tribal Land-Grant institution, UTTC and USGS share mutual interests in agricultural and environmental science programs that support Tribal communities and natural resource stewardship.
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