MDE Indigenous Education Initiative Tribal Consultation Guidebook - Manual / Resource - Page 13
Tribal Organizations
For LEAs with nearby tribal organizations, it is recommended that those tribal organizations also be
included in consultation discussions, even if they lack full authority on par with a tribal government. Such
organizations are common in urban areas where the local Indigenous population may include members from
various tribes.
Past Federal Indian Policy encouraged and, in many cases, forcibly relocated many Indigenous people to
cities and other urban areas, well removed from their tribes. Tribal Organizations oen sprang up to support
Indigenous families in these areas and to represent their collective needs due to their separation from their
ancestral lands, communities, and the services only available in their home community. By working with
the tribal organizations, the LEA can ensure that the urban Indigenous communities’ unique needs are also
considered during program design, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
Appropriate Officials
LEAs are not responsible for determining who the appropriate official is to be at the table for each tribe.
However, every effort should be made to ensure that tribal leadership has been engaged to identify who that
appropriate official should be, and that the LEA does not make this decision on its own.
In some cases, tribes may send an elected official such as a Tribal Chairperson or Tribal Council Member
and other appointees or employees such as directors of their Tribal Education Department or other Tribal
Education Department staff. In others, they may choose to delegate the work to an individual who reports
back to the tribal leadership team. For contact information for federally recognized tribes, please access the
Tribal Leaders Directory maintained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the governmental website for each
tribe.
Similarly, LEAs should include members of their central office and building leadership teams in the
consultative discussions and not delegate the work to individuals who may have limited decision-making
authority over the programs being discussed. LEAs may also consider including one or more school board
members in the consultative discussions to reflect a commitment to supporting a co-governance relationship
with the tribes.
