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Intercultural Practice and Equity · Complex systems
Tribal Nations are sovereign governments, and the state's relationship with them is government to government. Four lessons on what that means for a state employee, why consultation is a duty that DHS offices lead, how to notice Tribal implications early in a project, and where to take them.
40–45 minutes · 4 lessons · Voluntary learning
Why Tribal Nations belong in a different category than community partners, what the relationship rests on, and the four ideas state staff most often blend together.
What government-to-government consultation requires of a state agency, what it is not, who at DHS leads it, and what an ordinary staff member is actually responsible for.
Why late engagement fails however well it is written, what history and unequal power have to do with a project schedule, and the signals that a project has Tribal implications while there is still room to change it.
The practical tool: a short check you run yourself, early, on one project, and the route that hands the question to the offices who lead it.
Take one live project, write down the last date its outcome can still change, run the first-look check, and send it to the DHS office that leads tribal relations before that date.
Minnesota is home to eleven federally recognized Tribal Nations, each with its own elected government, and the state's relationship with them is government to government. This module is about what that means for a state employee doing ordinary public-administration work: writing a policy, redesigning a program, letting a contract, planning an evaluation. It covers why a Tribal Nation belongs in a different category than a community partner, what consultation actually requires of an agency, why late engagement fails no matter how well it is written, and how to run a short first-look check on your own project and hand the question to the DHS offices that lead this work. It does not speak for any Tribal Nation, does not describe any Nation's culture or internal affairs, and does not stand in for formal consultation or for the state's Tribal-state relations training. Nothing here is scored, ranked or collected, and the reflection prompts are yours alone.
Governments, not stakeholders. Notice early, route it, and do not answer it yourself.
Keep the category, the route and the timing in view while you plan a policy change, a program redesign, a contract, an evaluation or a public report.
Run the first-look check on one live project and send it before the open decision closes.
Participation and course completion in this program do not count toward DHS-required training credits unless management, a director, or DHS leadership expressly approves an exception.
Minnesota's statute recognizing the unique status of the state's eleven federally recognized Tribes, directing state agencies including the Department of Human Services to adopt Tribal consultation policies, to consult the governing body of each Nation on matters with Tribal implications, to designate a Tribal liaison, and to direct relevant staff to Tribal-state relations training.
The statute establishing the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, useful for understanding what that body is and, read alongside section 10.65, what it does not replace.
The state body that works on relationships between Minnesota state government and the Tribal Nations in Minnesota, including Tribal-state relations training for state employees.
The department's public site. The DHS Office of Indian Policy and the DHS offices that handle tribal relations and consultation are reached through the department and through your own division's directory; they lead this work.
Plain-language federal overview of what federal recognition means and where the official list of federally recognized Tribes is published.
Federal answers on Tribal sovereignty, the government-to-government relationship, the trust responsibility, and terminology used in federal and state practice.
National standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services, including the standards on governance, partnership and engaging the communities a program serves.
The design reference for this curriculum: multiple ways to engage, culturally responsive materials and accessible instruction.