On December 5, 2023, the Department of the Interior (DOI; Department) implemented Service Manual Section 301 DM 7, “Departmental Responsibilities for Consideration and Inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge in Departmental Actions and Scientific Research” (Service Manual). In response to its own directive to propagate relevant guidance, the DOI published the Handbook “Procedures for the Inclusion and Application of Indigenous Knowledge in the Actions of the Department” (Handbook) on January 17, 2025.

Together, these two documents provide the policy framework under which the DOI includes Indigenous Knowledge as part of its mandate to use the best available scientific and commercial data in the Department’s decision-making processes.