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.
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, view Laws of Minnesota, 1st Spec. Sess. chapter 14, article 11, section 5 and MnDOT's policy for developing, improving, and maintaining collaborative relationships between MnDOT and the eleven (11) Tribal Nations in Minnesota.
