Office of Tribal Affairs
The Office of Tribal Affairs works on developing policies, agreements, partnerships, employment training, and contracts to create more efficient, improved and beneficial transportation services with the 11 Tribal Nations in Minnesota.
The office also works on the Tribal-State Relations Training program to provide an enterprise wide training program for all state employees to learn about American Indian tribal governments, histories, cultures and traditions, in order to empower employees to work more effectively and efficiently with American Indian tribal governments.
Tribal Liaison
The MnDOT tribal liaison facilitates meetings, negotiates intergovernmental agreements and helps reconcile differences between MnDOT and Tribal Governments. The MnDOT tribal liaison also works to coordinate with all MnDOT regions and other agency tribal liaisons to ensure constant and effective communication with the tribes in Minnesota.
View a directory for state agency liaisons (PDF).
Tribal Nations in Minnesota
Each tribe is a separate sovereign nation — unique unto itself and distinct from all other federally recognized tribes.
Each tribe has an independent relationship with the United States and the State of Minnesota. MnDOT recognizes the unique sovereign status of federally recognized tribes, the cultural values of all American Indian tribes in Minnesota, and is committed to strengthening the government-to-government relationship with the tribes. For more information on MnDOT's commitment for developing, improving, and maintaining collaborative relationships between MnDOT and the eleven (11) Tribal Nations in Minnesota view MnDOT's Tribal Nations Gov't-Gov't policy.
For information about Government-to-Government relations between the Tribal Nations in MN and the State, view the recently codified Laws of Minnesota 2021, 1st Spec. Sess. chapter 14, article 11, section 5.
In The News
- For first time, MnDOT puts up signs recognizing treaty boundaries (November 2021)
- Never Homeless Before 1492 (September 2021)
- Mission Creek landscape restoration begins with tree clearing (March 2021)
- Working with Tribal Nations to improve places for people to walk (January 2021)
- Employees help deliver food to tribal nations (May 2020)
