About the Tribal State Relations Exploration Project

The Tribal State Relations Team (TSR) began in March 2020 within the Governor’s Public Engagement Office as an 18-month special project funded by the Bush Foundation. As the COVID-19 pandemic struck Minnesota, the Governor’s Office declared a peacetime emergency just four days after the project’s staff began, forcing the newly established Tribal State Relations office to adopt a unique and crucial role, leading the COVID response with the Tribes. The Tribal State Relations office worked to ensure that the response to the pandemic would be one of togetherness and collaboration by coordinating with Tribal Leadership in daily meetings and coordinating with Tribal liaisons across state Agencies to create guides for COVID funding and resources by state agency.

In early September 2022, the Governor’s Office removed the TSR office from Public Engagement and established a stand-alone Tribal State Relations office within the Governor’s Office team. As a result, the office has been elevated and serves as a direct link between Tribal Leadership and the Governor’s Office. The Tribal State Relations office also acts as a policy and legislative affairs advisor for all matters impacting Tribal Nations and urban Native communities because the office is better able to focus its efforts on affirming and strengthening government-to-government relationships with each of the 11 Tribal Nations. The Tribal State Relations office works closely with state agencies, commissioners, councils, boards, and the Governor’s Office, to maintain Minnesota’s commitment to consistent, regular, and meaningful engagement and consultation with each of the 11 Tribal Nations in Minnesota.

Although government-to-government relations with the 11 Tribal Nations in Minnesota was signed into state law in July 2021, along with a mandate for state agencies to have Tribal Liaisons and Tribal State Relations training, there is still much work to be done. Unless the Tribal State Relations office is codified into state law, it will cease to exist after the Governor serves his final term.