Tribal Relations - Executive Branch.

The Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs (GOIA) is housed within the executive branch and promotes the government-to-government relationship between the state and Indian tribes.  GOIA serves as liaison between state and tribal governments in an advisory, resource, consultation, and educational capacity.  Each state agency is required to identify a tribal liaison responsible for assisting with agency development and implementation of state and agency policies that promote effective communication and collaboration between the state agency and tribal governments; serving as a contact person with tribal governments and maintaining communication between the state agency and affected tribal governments; and coordinating training of state agency employees in government-to-government relations.

Tribal Relations - Judicial Branch.

The Tribal State Court Consortium (TSCC) is a joint effort between state and tribal court judicial officers and other judicial branch members to expand communication and collaboration on issues concerning domestic violence and sexual assault, dependency cases involving Indian children, and the disproportionate number of Indian youth in the juvenile justice system.  The TSCC provides a forum where state and tribal court judicial officers can discuss jurisdictional issues, gaps in services, and ways to develop partnerships.

Tribal Relations - Legislative Branch.

The Legislative Office on Indian Affairs (Office) is created as an agency of the legislative branch to provide informational resources relating to tribal affairs to legislators and professional legislative staff.  Professional legislative staff includes individuals whose primary responsibilities require the exercise of judgment and discretion in policy-related matters including individuals who are involved in the development of legislation.  The Executive Director of the Office is employed by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate, in consultation with the Senate Facilities and Operations Committee and the House Executive Rules Committee.

The Office is responsible for providing educational and informational resources to legislators and the professional legislative staff of both chambers and the Office of the Code Revisor.  Such resources include:

• annual training on specified topics including cultural awareness and understanding of the state's tribal members, tribal sovereignty, the appropriate use of shared definitions and terminology, legal issues impacting the government-to-government relationship, and best practices for policymaking when dealing with policies that have the potential to impact tribal policies;
• continuing education training as needed on tribal policy and issues of mutual concern;
• assistance in locating educational and informational resources relating to tribal affairs and tribal organizations; and
• expertise on the Centennial Accord, Millennium Agreement, and the government-to-government relationship.

The annual training is mandatory for professional legislative staff, and legislators are encouraged to attend.

The Office must coordinate with the Statute Law Committee to include in any bill drafting guide the best practices for drafting policy relating to tribes and the appropriate use of shared definitions and terminology.